Prehistoric rat-like mammal fossil is earliest showing fur, skin and organs
by Ian Sample Science editor from on (#QFWP)
Spinolestes xenarthrosus's 125m-year-old remains, found in Cuenca, Spain, with earlobe, lung, liver and furry pelt, is 60m years older any other mammal found with soft tissues preserved
A small rat-like mammal that lived and died in a swamp 125m years ago was so well preserved by the fossilisation process that its fur, skin and organs are still visible today.
The remains, unearthed in a quarry near Cuenca in central Spain, are more than 60m years older than other fossils that record the soft tissues of prehistoric mammals.
