«Grandma, what big teeth you have!»

One of our early ancestors, a Therapsid (the group that gave rise to mammals) that lived 250 million years ago, has been recently discovered in Tiaraju, Brazil. Tiarajudens eccentricus ("eccentric teeth from Tiaraju") is the earliest of our known ancestors (and one of the oldest discovered land-dwelling animals) to be able to eat vegetables. However, as its name states: there are some things quite more unique in this extinct animal

 Reconstruction of T. eccentricus by Juan C. Cisneros.

Its most noticeable feature are the 12 cm canine "saber teeth" that protrude downwards from its upper jaw, such a distinct feature for a  plant-eater. Juan Carlos Cisneros, paleontologist of the Federal University of Pinauí and leader of the team that discovered the new species, believes the herbivore used this huge teeth to defend itself from predators.

Reconstruction of the head of T. eccentricus by Juan C. Cisneros.

Cisneros points out also another less noticeable but equally "eccentric" feature of the new species: it has 13 molars in its palate, unlike any other animal discovered so far.

Fossilized skull of T. eccentricus.

You can read the full article, published in the latest edition of the Science magazine, here.