Fruitafossor fossil map
Where fossils of Fruitafossor have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 145 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 145 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 154.8–145.06 million years ago (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian) |
| Periods | Jurassic |
| Named by | Luo and Wible 2005 |
| Fossil records | 4 occurrences at 2 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | Morrison |
About Fruitafossor
Fruitafossor is an extinct, probably myrmecophagous mammal endemic to North America during the Late Jurassic epoch (around 150 mya).
The description is based on a complete skeleton of a chipmunk-sized animal. It was discovered on March 31, 2005, in Fruita, Colorado. 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.
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.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Fruitafossor (revision 1372480238), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q2420570.
