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| Eomaia Temporal range: Lower Cretaceous, 125 mya | |
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| Eomaia | |
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| Genus: | Eomaia Ji et al., 2002 |
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Eomaia ('dawn mother') is an early fossil eutherian mammal. It is exceptionally well-preserved for a 125 million-year-old specimen.
It was discovered in rocks of the Yixian Formation, Liaoning Province, China. These strata date to the Lower Cretaceous about 125 million years ago (mya).
The fossil is 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in length and virtually complete. It weighed between 20–25 grams (0.71–0.88 oz). Although the fossil's skull is squashed flat, its teeth, tiny foot bones, cartilages and even its fur are visible.
Eomaia is a eutherian. The eutherians are the placental mammals plus some extinct mammals which had not developed a placenta.
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