Extinct weasel relative with confounding skull likely ate meat with a side of veggies
Friday, February 22, 2019 - 14:50
in Paleontology & Archaeology
The oddly shaped skull of Leptarctus primus, an extinct weasel relative that lived in North America and Asia about 20 million years ago, has long led to conflicting theories about its diet. But new biomechanical models show that Leptarctus was likely a carnivorous predator, with capability for omnivory and a broader diet when prey was scarce, and a skull that functioned similarly to that of the living American badger.