Researchers have found a new species of cynodonts-small rat-like animals that lived about 220 million years ago. They have named it Rewaconodon indicus as it was discovered in India.
- About 10 teeth samples of cynodonts were collected from the village of Tihki (Tiki Formation) in Shahdol District, Madhya Pradesh.
- The researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, used scanning electron microscopy to study about 10 teeth samples collected from the village.
- The research team also identified two new genera from the Tihki area. The first was named Inditherium floris, after India and the Latin word therium meaning beast.
- The second was named Tikiodon cromptoni, after Tiki Formation and Greek word odon meaning tooth. The species name is after paleontologist A.W. Crompton.
- Cynodonts are important in evolutionary studies as this group ultimately gave rise to the present-day mammals, says Sanghamitra Ray from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
(Source: The Hindu)
