Earliest evidence of mammalian social behaviour in the basal Tertiary of Bolivia

Sandrine Ladevèze (), Christian de Muizon (), Robin M. D. Beck, Damien Germain and Ricardo Cespedes-Paz
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Sandrine Ladevèze: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 29 rue Vautier
Christian de Muizon: MNHN, UPMC), 8 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France
Robin M. D. Beck: American Museum of Natural History
Damien Germain: MNHN, UPMC), 8 rue Buffon, F-75005 Paris, France
Ricardo Cespedes-Paz: Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d'Orbigny, Av. Potosi N-1458

Nature, 2011, vol. 474, issue 7349, 83-86

Abstract: A social history for opossums Didelphid marsupials — opossums — are solitary creatures, a trait often considered primitive for marsupials. This view could change with the discovery of a mass-death fossil group of Pucadelphys andinus, a primitive mouse-sized relative of marsupials from the early Palaeocene (around 64 million years ago) of Bolivia. The remains of 35 individuals are jumbled together in a small area, apparently buried in a single event. This find is so remarkable that we now have more specimens of this ancient mammal than we do of some marsupials living today.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature09987

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