Filikomys, a Mesozoic mammal that lived in communal burrows

[Halichoeres]

This is a really cool set of fossils, groups of partially-articulated skeletons from individuals of varying ages, preserved in concretions in what appear to be burrows. 60 million years before chipmunks and ground squirrels, multituberculates were doing their jobs. Really great find for a group that usually leaves just teeth and dentaries.

Composite skeleton with some of the individuals it's based on:


And some artwork by Misaki Ouchida:


Paper (paywall): https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-01325-8

Free-to-read illustrated summary: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-01325-8

[Faelrin]

Excellent find indeed. I've been doing extensive research on prehistoric mammals (using the list on wikipedia as a starting point), and was disappointed by how many early mammals were mostly just jaws or teeth. Very good and lucky find. Not just one specimen but multiples, and from the Cretaceous as well.

The artwork is adorable too. I definitely want a figure of a family of these now, complete with burrow.

[Shonisaurus]

I would like a filikomys as a figure in one of the lines or marks of dinosaurs and other prehistoric toy animals. I do not understand why the small prehistoric mammals of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic are so undervalued and especially the small rodents, for me rodents are adorable.

[ceratopsian]

An extraordinary find. It even got a sizeable article in The Times for the general reader, with the implied spin that it's not surprising that modern human mammals are missing close contact with fellow creatures with present social distancing restrictions. It also mentioned that the fossils come from the famous dinosaur nesting site Egg Mountain.

I would like a model of the group too!