omnivores or unspecialized insectivores. Fruitafossor is unique in the degree of specialization, both for digging and in regard to how specialized it was on insects. This fossil, along with others such as Repenomamus, Volaticotherium, and Castorocauda, challenge the notion that early mammals and mammaliaforms were restricted to a single niche and demonstrate that at least some early specialization occurred. The eutriconodont Spinolestes may have also occupied a similar ecological niche, and like Fruitafossor it has xenarthrous vertebrae convergent with those of xenarthrans. Classification and phylogeny Fruitafossor has no modern relatives. It is an early offshoot of mammal related to therians (the subclass containing marsupials and placentals). It has a unique suite of therian and prototherian characteristics. Its shoulder-girdle is similar to a platypus or reptile, but many other features are more similar to most other modern mammals. This has led researchers to suggest that it may have been the earliest known relative to the evolutionary line leading to Theria. The genus name, Fruitafossor, comes from Fruita, Colorado, where it was discovered. The suffix "fossor" indicates the fossorial, or digging, specialization of the forelimbs. The specific epithet, windscheffeli, is in honor of Wally Windscheffel, who discovered the specimen along with Charles E. Safris of Des Moines, Iowa. See also Morrison Formation Mammals of the Morrison Formation References External links Science article on Fruitafossor National Geographic: "Popeye" Jurassic Mammal Found, Had "Peculiar Teeth" Carnegie Museum of Natural History News BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Termite eater lived with dinos Myrmecophagous mammals Prehistoric mammal genera Morrison mammals Jurassic mammals of North America Fossil taxa described in 2005 Taxa named by Zhe-Xi Luo Taxa named by John R. Wible