Late Triassic (Norian)

Pant Quarry, Fissure Fill

Near Brigend, South Glamorgan, Wales

Excellent 1mm tooth mounted on a standard microfossil slide.

Mammal. Synapsid.

Morganucodon is considered the earliest known mammal by many paleontologists while others contend it belongs to a group closely-related to early mammals. Unlike most Mesozoic mammals, other parts of Morganucodon’s skeleton are known and there appears to be evidence it had fur and the females produced milk for their offspring which would qualify it as a mammal.

This is the kind of fossil many mammal collectors don’t consider largely because they don’t know it’s available. This tooth is tiny next to a mammoth tooth but it would be an interesting addition to a mammal fossil display along with an illustration of the animal – a reminder that everything in life starts small.