Meet the prehistoric otter-like animal that swam alongside dinosaurs

Scientists have discovered a new species of prehistoric animal that swam in lakes and rivers around 165 million years ago.

The furry, otter-like creature, called Megacauda sungei, lived in what is now China, at a time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

Scientists say it had a wide, flat tail like a beaver and was probably a good swimmer.

Experts say discovery could help them better understand how early mammals lived during the age of dinosaurs.

Experts came across the fossil in China's Inner Mongolia region, in rock formed from lake sediment.

The well-preserved fossil meant that scientists could see evidence of the animal's fur and skin, helping them build a clearer picture of what it looked like.

Megacauda sungei lived during the Jurassic Period in the age of dinosaurs and was around 50 cm long, weighing 1 to 2 kg.

Researchers say it swam like a platypus, hunted like an otter and had a tail similar to that of a beaver.

It could be found in lakes and rivers hunting fish and salamanders.

Study co-author Thomas Martin from the University of Bonn explained: "It swam by ​using its front and hind legs for paddling ​and performing undulating movements with its tail.

"It probably dug burrows in the river banks or lake shores."

Zhe-Xi Luo, the study's senior author from the University of Chicago, said Megacauda may have been active at night or around dawn and dusk.

He added that it would have had to look out for meat-eating predators.

"The predatory threat against Megacauda would likely be from the feathered theropod dinosaurs," Luo said.

Scientists also believe Megacauda to be the oldest-known semiaquatic mammal-like animal that has been discovered so far.