Fossil of 65-million-year-old mammal discovered near Colorado Springs

An exciting discovery of a new species of mammal was made on the edge of Colorado Springs, according to an announcement from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. 

Denver museum scientists recently discovered a fossil in the Corral Bluffs area that belonged to a species of mammal that lived 65.5 million years ago, named the Militocodon lydae.

Museum officials said that the newly discovered species was about the size of a chinchilla or large rat. The fossil skull and jaws of the mammal were uncovered from rocks that date back to just after the dinosaur extinction, the museum said. 

The Militocodon lydae is part of a group of animals that gave rise to modern hoofed mammals like cows, deer and pigs, according to the release. The museum said this new mammal species provides important clues about the explosive diversification of mammals following the extinction of dinosaurs. 

"Rocks from this interval of time have a notoriously poor fossil record and the discovery and description of a fossil mammal skull is an important step forward in documenting the earliest diversification of mammals after Earth’s last mass extinction,” said Dr. Tyler Lyson, Museum Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology.  

Museum officials said the Militocodon lydae was named in honor of two Corral Bluffs project contributors: Sharon Milito, a volunteer and retired Colorado Springs teacher, and Lyda Hill, a Denver museum supporter and "champion" of the city.