Fruitafossor

Fruitafossor was a termite-eating mammal endemic to North America during the Late Jurassic epoch (around 150 mya).[1]

The description is based on a surprisingly complete skeleton of a chipmunk-sized animal.[1] It was discovered on March 31, 2005, in Fruita, Colorado. It resembled an armadillo (or anteater) and probably ate colonial insects in much the same manner as these animals do today. Other skeletal features clearly show that Fruitafossor was not related to armadillos, anteaters, or any modern group of mammal. This indicates that specializations associated with feeding on ants or termites have independently evolved many times in mammals: in Fruitafossor, anteaters, numbats, aardwolves, aardvarks, pangolins, and echidnas.