Meet the rat-like animal that avoided being eaten by dinosaurs 72 million years ago

Scientists have recreated the appearance of the largest mammal yet discovered which lived during the age of the dinosaurs.

The recovery of an intact skull showed the animal had what it needed to avoid being eaten or stepped on by the tyrannosaurs and other giants that roamed the planet 66 million years ago.

The animal, named vintana, is dated to have lived between 66 and 72 million years ago. It was a time when dinosaurs dominated the earth, yet rat-like mammals were also on the scene.

At an estimated 9kg vintana was bigger than other small mammals of the time, though no giant.

Yet the scientists conclude the animal had the special skills needed to survive. It had big eyes, good hearing and a keen sense of smell, they conclude from a study of the skull and its visual, olfactory and auditory structures.