How mammals thrived after the dinosaurs

Scientists have discovered a species of ancient mammal that survived the event that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The remains of the large, rodent-like creature provides clues about how mammals "took over" when dinosaurs died out.

Kimbetopsalis simmonsae, as the species has been named, was a plant-eating creature that resembled a beaver. Its discovery is published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Here, Dr Stephen Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh, who led the study, explains how this discovery helps paint a picture of a time just after the dinosaurs, when mammals "suddenly" began to thrive.