A Dog's Life

Found in Liaoning Province, the carnivorous Reponomamus giganticus resembled modern-day Tasmanian devils and preyed on young dinosaurs, among other animals. The discovered specimen lies curled up with its tail tucked between its legs, much like modern dogs. It may have died in its sleep or suffered from illness and curled up into a ball.

Its impressive skeleton covers an area more than twenty times larger than that of a living tree shrew. Until the discovery of this dog-like predator, the largest mammal of the Early Cretaceous was considered a close relative of the current record holder, Reponomamus robustus. It was the size of a modern fox, and its skull, less than 10 cm long, was significantly more refined than that of the recently discovered dinosaurian muncher.