University of Bonn researchers are studying the lifespan and growth patterns of early mammals
Life reconstruction of two coexisting species from the Late Jurassic period in Portugal, showing aspects of their life history. - On the left is a parent of the early mammal Dryolestes which raises a brood after reaching sexual maturity at age four. On the right is a Haldanodon, a member of the family of mammal-like docodonts, before fully reaching the mammalian evolutionary level; the creature’s lifespan was eleven to fourteen years. What distinguishes the growth and development patterns of early mammals of the Jurassic period? This is the question jointly investigated by researchers of Queen Mary University of London and the University of Bonn. Paleontologists have been able to gauge the lifespan and growth rates of these ancient animals, and even when they reached sexual maturity, by studying growth rings in fossilized tooth roots. The study has now been published in the journal Science Advances.
"Never before have we been able to reconstruct the growth patterns of these early mammals in such detail," says lead author Dr.
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