Life of early mammals: a new, exceptionally preserved fossil mammal from the Early Cretaceous of NE China

We propose a propagation phase contrast synchrotron radiation X-ray micro computed tomography (PPC-SRµCT) study of an unreported Early Cretaceous mammaliaform fossil which is a new docodontan species. This fossil is superbly preserved with articulated cheek teeth and skeleton, and soft tissues including fur, whiskers, and claws. The best voxel size of mainslab’s previous lab-based CT was 27 µm, which was not enough to identify the key morphological details. A recently acquired counterslab has yet to be CT scanned. With the requested PPC-SRµCT of 9 shifts on BM18, we will image the complete specimen from the two slabs separately, at a 10 µm voxel size, and acquire specific regions at a voxel size ca. 1 µm. The higher resolution scans will include teeth, middle ear, carpals and articulation, tibia tissues and possible gut content remains. The purpose is to restore the biology and lifestyle of this new docodontan, and further advance our understanding of the early evolution of mammals.