Mammals in the Mesozoic era (280 million to 65 million years ago) are commonly pictured as tiny shrew-like creatures that were mainly insectivorous, probably nocturnal and lived in the shadow of the dinosaurs. This concept is challenged by new discoveries by researchers from the CAS Institute of Verte-brate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. They provide the first direct evidence that some primitive mammals were carnivores and large enough to compete with the dinosaurs for food and even feed on their young. In the January 13 issue of the journal Nature, the researchers report their studies on the fossilized remains of two mammals roaming the land about 130 million years ago that were dug out from the Yixian Formation in northeast China's Liaoning Province.
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