Castorocauda

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Castorocauda

fossil mammal genus

Written by Paul David Polly

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Castorocauda, genus of extinct beaverlike mammals known from fossils dated to the Middle Jurassic (175.6 million to 161.2 million years ago) of China. Classified in the extinct order Docodonta, Castorocauda weighed 500 to 800 grams (1.1 to 1.8 pounds), almost as large as living platypuses, making it the largest Jurassic mammal known. Castorocauda was found in the Jiulongshan Formation (which is also called the Haifanggou Formation) of China, which preserved a nearly complete skeleton and skull, along with carbonized impressions of the skin and hair. Like living mammals, it had integument with an undercoat and guard hairs. Although it was ...(100 of 201 words)

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