VIRTUAL EVENT: Beyond Bizarre: The Crazy Beast of Madagascar - May 6 at 7pm Mountain from Denver Museum of Nature & Science

An international team of scientists led by David Krause, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology, has discovered a new fossil mammal, Adalatherium hui, from the island of Madagascar. First published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, this new mammal is represented by an articulated and well-preserved skeleton, the most complete for any mammal from the entire Mesozoic of the southern hemisphere. Adalatherium, which literally means "crazy beast," belongs to a lesser known group of mammals called gondwanatherians that previously were represented by only a single skull and isolated jaws and teeth. The skeleton has many features that are uniquely bizarre, consistent with a history of isolation on the island of Madagascar for over 20 million years.