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First fossil of ancient mammal
found in Costa Rica
Costa Rican scientists
discovered what they said was a
fossil belonging to an
amphibious mammal that was
previously unknown to the
tropics, a local newspaper
reported.
Fossilized teeth of Desmostylus
hesperus, a long-extinct mammal,
have turned up in California and
Japan, but never before in a
tropical country such as Costa
Rica, they told the San Jose
daily.
The animal lived some seven
million to five million years
ago, to judge by the Pacific
Ocean sediments in which the
fossil was found, geologist Ana
Lucia Valerio and paleontologist
Cesar Laurito told the
newspaper.
The tooth appeared to be from a
young member of the species,
which looked something like a
manatee or an elephant, to which
they are closely
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