The fossils examined in the study belonged to an animal known as the lystrosaurus, or 'shovel lizard.' It was a herbivorous genus of therapsid - a group of synapsids that include the early mammals. Furthermore, the stress found in the tusks might be caused by another form of short-term torpor. Limitations in the study restricted the confirmation of the Lystrosaurus case as 'hibernation' as we know it in modern animals. Sidor explains that they looked at something that can fossilize, like the tusks, and that grows continuously through the animal's life, as is the case with the Lystrosaurus. It is an ancient one,' Whitney said in a UW press release. 'These preliminary findings indicate that entering into a hibernation-like state is not a relatively new type of adaptation. Those found in the lystrosaurus fossils are the oldest known instances of torpor drawn from fossil evidence.

Researchers were able to discover that prolonged stress was consistent among animals that experienced torpor - state of inactivity or torpor, such as hibernation. RELATED: Which Dinosaur Bone Helps Support Their Weight?ĭue to the lack of specific time period corresponding to each 'growth mark,' researchers adopted an 'agnostic terminology' to reflect growth patterns, noting a baseline that will serve as their reference in dating the tusks. They traced dentine, a major tissue that is hard, dense, and bony, deposited during two events: (1) regular incremental growth, as well as (2) in times of arrested growth, which reflects metabolic stress.

The tusks were able to provide additional information because they can also record the time elapsed, similar to tree rings used in dating plants. They compared the frequency and patterns of growth marks in tusks of these non-mammalian Lystrosaurus, from those found in Antarctica to those from the Karoo Basic in South America. Researchers used its tusks to check stress differences between those who lived in polar environments as opposed to those who are in the warmer areas such as the African continent. Evidence of Torpor from the Early Triassic Their findings were published in Communications Biology last August 27.

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