{
  "id": 14975310,
  "title": "This Ancient Animal Looked Like a Platypus-Otter Hybrid. It's Providing Clues About the Origins of Mammalian Suckling and Swallowing",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/this-ancient-animal-looked-like-a-platypus-otter-hybrid-its-providing",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-16T14:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Smithsonian",
    "slug": "smithsonian",
    "url": "https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-ancient-animal-looked-like-a-platapys-otter-hybrid-its-providing-clues-about-the-origins-of-mammalian-suckling-and-swallowing-180989666/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The roughly two- to four-pound predator lived alongside dinosaurs some 165 million years ago. A fossil found in northern China shows the strange creature had a surprisingly modern throat structure",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}