Researchers from the Universities of Tübingen and Zaragoza have discovered the fossil of a previously unknown species of otters, which they have named Vishnuonyx neptuni, meaning ‘Neptune’s Vishnu’.
- The species was discovered from a 11.4-million-year-old strata in the area of Hammerschmiede, which is a fossil site in Bavaria, Germany that has been studied for about 50 years.
- Between 12.5 million and 14 million years ago, members of Vishnuonyx lived in the major rivers of southern Asia.
- Fossils of these now extinct otters were first discovered in sediments found in the foothills of the Himalayas. Now, the newly found fossil indicates it had travelled as far as Germany.
- This is the first discovery of any member of the Vishnuonyx genus in Europe; it is also its most northern and western record till date.
(Source: IE)
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