Newly discovered prehistoric creature named after the character from The Hobbit

Discovering a previously unknown creature is even more fun when you can relate it to popular culture. It is in our nature to make a connection with something we already know, and we certainly know our the Lord of the Rings.

New research published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology has introduced us to three new ancient species, recently discovered by a team at the University of Colorado at Boulder, after analyzing unearthed bones and teeth in the lower jaw. The creatures were prehistoric mammals of varying sizes that lived across North America just a few hundred thousand years after the dinosaurs died out.

Named Miniconus jeanninae, Conacodon hettingeri, and Beornus honeyi, the three creatures varied in size, further proving the idea that evolution happened faster than expected after the dinosaurs went extinct. They are part of a type of group of placental mammals called archaic ungulates – or “condylarths” – and are the earliest ancestors of horses, cows, and other hoofed mammals today.

The team used phylogenetic techniques to examine the teeth and lower jaw bones of 29 fossil condylarth species, discerning how they might differ from each other in appearance and behavior, as well as how they compare to other condylarthres in the western United States.

The Beornus honeyi caught the attention of pop culture fans, however, having been named after Beorn, a character from the Hobbit who provided refuge for hobbits and dwarves as they fled from goblins.

It was so named because of its swollen molars, giving the appearance of swollen cheeks. In the books and movies, Beorn’s character is portrayed as a large and powerful skin changer, or shapeshifter, who could morph into a bear and feature puffy cheeks in the same way.

Despite the name, the discovery of these condylarthres supports the notion of rapid species diversification.

“When the dinosaurs went extinct, access to different foods and environments allowed mammals to flourish and rapidly diversify in the anatomy of their teeth and evolve into larger size,” Madelaine said. Atteberry, lead author of the study.

“Previous studies suggest that during the first hundreds of thousands of years after the extinction of the dinosaurs, the diversity of mammalian species was relatively low in the western interior of North America,” he said. she added, “but the discovery of three new species in the Great Divide Basin suggests rapid diversification after extinction.