Scientists have uncovered the earliest evidence of a tumor in a mammalian ancestor, dating back to 255 million years ago. This tumor, known as "odontoma," apparently caused a major toothache to this earliest mammalian predecessor.

A team from the University of Washington uncovered crucial evidence of this fossilized tumor in Tanzania. This type of tumor is typically made of tiny tooth-like structures that grow inside the gums of animals.

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Odontoma sounds just as painful, and in humans, this toothache can be removed via mouth surgery. Today, it is still prevalent in mammals.

This newly discovered odontoma fossil apparently belongs to the lower jaw of a gorgonopsid, one of the ancient ancestors of mammals.

According to the director of the National Science Foundation's Division of Earth Sciences, Judy Skog, until this new discovery, the earliest evidence of this tumor in mammals was one million years ago. This discovery suggests how odontoma is not solely suffered by modern species.

The gorgonopsians belong to a larger group of animals known as synapsids and the only modern synapsids living today are mammals.

According to the lead author of the study, Megan Whitney of the University of Washington, these synapsid fossils from gorgonopsians are crucial pieces of the evolutionary puzzle to understand how our mammalian features came to be and how they evolved through time.

"At first we did not know what to make of this fossilized mass, but after some investigations, we realized it was gorgonopsian in origin suffering from a toothache from an odontoma compound," Whitney said.

Synapsids possess both reptilian and mammalian features, providing clues into how gorgonopsians evolved, especially features such as teeth with this odontoma which can also be compared with the teeth structure of reptiles and mammals as well.

This new study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Oncology.