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A saber-toothed squirrel-like mammal from the Age of Dinosaurs is shedding light on just how diverse our distant ancestors might have been, researchers said.

With its superlong fangs, long snout and large eyes, the mouse-size animal bears an oddly striking resemblance to the fictional saber-toothed squirrels depicted in the computer-animated "Ice Age" films, scientists added.

This newfound creature is named Cronopio dentiacutus —Cronopio after the bizarre, fictional beasts central to many stories by Argentine writer Julio Cortázar, and dentiacutus from Latin, meaning "sharp, acute teeth."

The animal's fangs would've been about 0.2 inches (5 millimeters) long, about one-fifth the length of its head.

Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/201...urs-discovered