Yeutherium

Yeutherium
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
~72–66 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Clade: †Meridiolestida
Clade: †Mesungulatoidea
Family: †Reigitheriidae
Genus: †Yeutherium
Püschel et al., 2025
Species:
†Y. pressor
Binomial name
†Yeutherium pressor
Püschel et al., 2025
Image of a reconstruction of a Yeutherium pressor as he lived, rendered and created in Blender.

Yeutherium is an extinct genus of mammal from the Reigitheriidae that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Late Campanian-Maastrichtian). Its fossils have been found in the Dorotea Formation in Chile and the type species is Y. pressor.

Discovery and naming

The holotype was discovered in the Dorotea Formation in Chile and it consists of a partial maxilla with an associated molar.

Yeutherium pressor was named and described by Püschel et al. (2025).

Description

Yeutherium was estimated to weigh around 30 ounces (850 g) when fully grown. Its dentition was also specialised towards crushing food.

Classification

Yeutherium was also found to be close to Reigitherium, and it was subsequently placed into Reigitheriidae as only the second genus in the family.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Püschel, H. P.; Martinelli, A. G.; Soto-Acuña, S.; Ortiz, H.; Leppe, M.; Vargas, A. O. (2025). "A subantarctic reigitheriid and the evolution of crushing teeth in these enigmatic Mesozoic mammals". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 292 (2052). 20251056. doi:10.1098/rspb.2025.1056. PMC 12324878. PMID 40763811.
  2. ↑ Tiwari, Vaibhav (12 August 2025). "What is Yeutherium Pressor? 74-million-year-old fossil reveals secrets of a rodent-like mammal". Wio News. Retrieved 12 August 2025.