# Antarctic carnivorous mammal footprint discovery

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/antarctic-carnivorous-mammal-footprint-discovery
> Updated: 2026-10-15T16:01:10.000Z. Sources: 4. Developments: 2.

Paleontologists have identified the oldest known evidence of a terrestrial carnivorous mammal in Antarctica. The fossilized footprints, located in the Fossil Hill Formation on King George Island, date to approximately 55.5 million years ago during the early Eocene period.

The specimen, cataloged as T-313, consists of natural molds of a hand and foot preserved in volcanic sediment. Researchers from the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) noted that the morphology suggests a minimum body mass of 1.3 kilograms. While the exact species remains unconfirmed, the tracks are believed to have been made by a small sparassodont, an extinct group of hypercarnivorous mammals related to marsupials.

This discovery challenges previous ecological reconstructions that identified terror birds as the primary terrestrial predators in the Antarctic Peninsula during that era.

## Timeline

### 2026-10-15: Antarctica discovery reveals oldest known mammal footprints

Researchers have discovered 55.5-million-year-old mammal footprints in Antarctica, providing the earliest evidence of a terrestrial carnivore on the continent.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/antarctica-discovery-reveals-oldest-known-mammal-footprints

### 2026-10-12: Large Cretaceous mammal footprints discovered in Santa Catarina

Large fossilized footprints of mammaliaformes discovered in Santa Catarina, Brazil, indicate that early mammal relatives reached larger sizes during the Early Cretaceous than previously thought.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/large-cretaceous-mammal-footprints-discovered-in-santa-catarina

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Cite as: Antarctic carnivorous mammal footprint discovery. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/antarctic-carnivorous-mammal-footprint-discovery