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Deltatheroida
Deltatheroida is an extinct group of basal metatherians that were distantly related to modern marsupials. The majority of known members of the group lived in the Cretaceous; one species, '' Gurbanodelta kara'', is known from the late Paleocene ( Gashatan) of China. Their fossils are restricted to Central Asia and North America. This order can be defined as all metatherians closer to '' Deltatheridium'' than to Marsupialia. When they were first identified in the 1920s, they were believed to be placentals and possible ancestors of the " creodonts" (a polyphyletic group of extinct carnivorous mammals from the Paleogene and Miocene), but this was later disproven. Nonetheless, deltatheroideans do converge on hyaenodontids, oxyaenids, carnivorans, dasyuromorphs, thylacoleonids and sparassodonts in many details of their dental anatomy, suggesting a carnivorous lifestyle.CHRISTIAN DE MUIZON and BRIGITTE LANGE-BADRÉ, Carnivorous dental adaptations in tribosphenic mammals and phylo ...
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Lotheridium
''Lotheridium'' is an extinct genus of deltatheroidan mammals that lived in what is now Asia during the Late Cretaceous, about 72–66 million years ago. The genus contains a monotypic taxon, single species, ''Lotheridium mengi'', named in 2015 after paleontologist Jin Meng. It is known from a single fossil specimen—a skull with associated lower jaws—found in the Qiupa Formation of Henan Province, China and housed in the collections of the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History. The skull measures in length, suggesting ''Lotheridium'' was large compared to most other deltatheroidans. Though the preserved skull is almost complete, it has been flattened and the skull roof was crushed during fossilization. ''Lotheridium'' is believed to be a carnivore. It had a short snout and 46 teeth, among which the upper Canine tooth, canines are the largest and most elongated. Though its lower canines are far smaller than the upper pair, they are still large enough that there are small gaps in ...
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Metatherian
Metatheria is a mammalian clade that includes all mammals more closely related to marsupials than to placentals. First proposed by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1880, it is a more inclusive group than the marsupials; it contains all marsupials as well as many extinct non-marsupial relatives. It is one of two groups placed in the clade Theria alongside Eutheria, which contains the placentals. Remains of metatherians have been found on all of Earth’s continents. Description Distinctive characteristics ( synapomorphies) of Metatheria include a prehensile tail, the development of a capitular tail on the humerus, the loss of tooth replacement on the second and fifth premolars, lower canines that outwardly diverge from each other, an angular process on the dentary bone—which additionally bears a posterior shelf in its masseteric fossa in Metatheria—that is equal to or greater than the length of the ramus, and the lower fifth premolar with a "very trenchant" cristid obliqua/ectol ...
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Metatheria
Metatheria is a mammalian clade that includes all mammals more closely related to marsupials than to placentals. First proposed by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1880, it is a more inclusive group than the marsupials; it contains all marsupials as well as many extinct non-marsupial relatives. It is one of two groups placed in the clade Theria alongside Eutheria, which contains the placentals. Remains of metatherians have been found on all of Earth’s continents. Description Distinctive characteristics ( synapomorphies) of Metatheria include a prehensile tail, the development of a capitular tail on the humerus, the loss of tooth replacement on the second and fifth premolars, lower canines that outwardly diverge from each other, an angular process on the dentary bone—which additionally bears a posterior shelf in its masseteric fossa in Metatheria—that is equal to or greater than the length of the ramus, and the lower fifth premolar with a "very trenchant" cristid obliqua/ecto ...
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Tsagandelta
''Tsagandelta'' (meaning "white crest") is a genus of deltatheroidean therian mammal that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous. Distantly related to modern marsupials, it is part of Deltatheroida, a lineage of carnivorous metatherians common in the Cretaceous of Asia and among the most successful non-theropod carnivores of the region. It represents the first known mammal from the Bayan Shireh Formation. Discovery and naming The holotype was first discovered and collected in 2002 during the field expedition conducted by the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and the American Museum of Natural History, the specimen only preserved a partial left dentary. It was discovered on the outcrops at the Tsagan Tsonj locality in the Bayan Shireh Formation, the age is estimated to be around 102 million to 86 million years ago, between the Cenomanian and Santonian stages of the Late Cretaceous epoch. The generic name, ''Tsagandelta'', is derived from the Mongolian цагаан (tsagaan, meaning ...
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Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ninth and longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic. The name is derived from the Latin , 'chalk', which is abundant in the latter half of the period. It is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation . The Cretaceous was a period with a relatively warm climate, resulting in high Sea level#Local and eustatic, eustatic sea levels that created numerous shallow Inland sea (geology), inland seas. These oceans and seas were populated with now-extinct marine reptiles, ammonites, and rudists, while dinosaurs continued to dominate on land. The world was largely ice-free, although there is some evidence of brief periods of glaciation during the cooler first half, and forests extended to the poles. Many of the dominant taxonomic gr ...
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Pappotheriidae
''Pappotherium'' is an extinct genus of mammals from the Albian (early Cretaceous) of Texas, US, known from a fossilized maxilla fragment bearing two tribosphenic molars, discovered within the Glen Rose Formation near Decatur, Wise County, Texas. The fossil was discovered by Bob H. Slaughter within some deposits dating back to 112.6 – 109 million years ago. On the basis of the morphology of the molars' cusps, in 1965 Slaughter established the new genus ''Pappotherium'' and the new species ''P. pattersoni''; he also created an apposite family, Pappotheriidae. Both this family and the genus are nowadays still monotypic. Slaughter argued that ''Pappotherium'' should have been a basal form close to the metatherian-eutherian divergence point; this mammal likely was an arboreal insectivore. Etymologically speaking, the name ''Pappotherium'' is a compound of the Latin words ''pappus'' (from ancient Greek πάππος, ''páppos'', “grandfather”) and ''therium'' (from ancient Gr ...
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Pappotherium
''Pappotherium'' is an extinct genus of mammals from the Albian (early Cretaceous) of Texas, US, known from a fossilized maxilla fragment bearing two tribosphenic molars, discovered within the Glen Rose Formation near Decatur, Wise County, Texas. The fossil was discovered by Bob H. Slaughter within some deposits dating back to 112.6 – 109 million years ago. On the basis of the morphology of the molars' cusps, in 1965 Slaughter established the new genus ''Pappotherium'' and the new species ''P. pattersoni''; he also created an apposite family, Pappotheriidae. Both this family and the genus are nowadays still monotypic. Slaughter argued that ''Pappotherium'' should have been a basal form close to the metatherian-eutherian divergence point; this mammal likely was an arboreal insectivore. Etymologically speaking, the name ''Pappotherium'' is a compound of the Latin words ''pappus'' (from ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used ...
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Deltatheridiidae
Deltatheridiidae is an extinct family (biology), family of basal carnivore, carnivorous Metatheria, metatherians that lived during the Cretaceous and Paleogene. They were closely related to marsupialia, marsupials. Their fossils are restricted to Central Asia (Mongolia and Uzbekistan) and North America (United States - Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Wyoming). They mostly disappeared in the KT event, but a ghost lineage, currently represented by ''Gurbanodelta'', survived until the late Paleocene by decreasing in size and becoming Insectivore, insectivorous. The family consist in six genus, genera:Xijun Ni; Qiang Li; Thomas A. Stidham; Lüzhou Li; Xiaoyu Lu; Jin Meng (2016). "A late Paleocene probable metatherian (?deltatheroidan) survivor of the Cretaceous mass extinction". Scientific Reports. 6: Article number 38547. . *''Atokatheridium'' *''Deltatheridium'' *''Deltatheroides'' *''Gurbanodelta'' *''Lotheridium'' *''Oklatheridium'' *''Nanocuris'' *''Sulestes'' *''Tsagandelta'' R ...
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Atokatheridium
''Atokatheridium'' is an extinct genus of Deltatheridiidae from Cretaceous of United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ....Z. Kielan-Jaworowska and R. L. Cifelli. 2001. Primitive boreosphenidan mammal (?Deltatheroida) from the Early Cretaceous of Oklahoma. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 46(3):377-391. References Prehistoric metatherians Cretaceous mammals of North America Fossils of the United States Fossil taxa described in 2001 Monotypic prehistoric mammal genera {{cretaceous-mammal-stub ...
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Gurbanodelta
''Gurbanodelta kara'' is an extinct genus of metatherian mammal. A deltatheroid, it represents the geologically youngest member of this clade, dating to the late Paleocene of China. Description ''Gurbanodelta kata'' is known from upper molars. They are the smallest sized among deltatheroideans, suggesting that it was a small, shrew-sized mammal. Classification ''Gurbanodelta kara'' nests deeply within Deltatheridiidae. Its closest relative is the largest known deltatheroidean, ''Nanocuris ''Nanocuris'' is an extinct genus of Deltatheridiidae from the Cretaceous of Canada (Saskatchewan) and United States (Wyoming - Lance Formation and Hell Creek Formation).R. C. Fox, C. S. Scott, and H. N. Bryant. 2007. A new, unusual therian mamm ...''. Size reduction Deltatheroideans are relatively large carnivorous mammals. By contrast, ''Gurbanodelta kara'' is a small sized species. This indicates a size reduction that potentially allowed it to survive the KT event, likely switching to ...
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Oklatheridium
''Oklatheridium'' is an extinct genus of deltatheroidan from the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ....B. M. Davis, R. L. Cifelli, and Z. Kielan-Jaworowska. 2008. 1. Earliest Evidence of Deltatheroida (Mammalia: Metatheria) from the Early Cretaceous of North America. Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology: A Tribute to Frederick S. Szalay 3-24 References Prehistoric metatherians Cretaceous mammals of North America Fossil taxa described in 2008 Prehistoric mammal genera {{cretaceous-mammal-stub ...
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Sulestes
''Sulestes'' is an extinct genus of Deltatheridiidae from Cretaceous period. It has only been recovered from the Bissekty Formation, Bissekty and Aitym Formation, Aitym Formations in Uzbekistan.A. O. Averianov, J. D. Archibald, and E. G. Ekdale. 2010. New material of the Late Cretaceous deltatheroidan mammal ''Sulestes'' from Uzbekistan and phylogenetic reassessment of the metatherian-eutherian dichotomy. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 8 (3): 301-330. Digital object identifier, doi]10.1080/14772011003603499/ref> Description ''Sulestes'' is known from several jaw bones and teeth. Its holotype CCMGE 35/12000 consists of a left maxilla fragment with the first two molars. Significantly more material was referred to the genus in 2010 that included a right maxilla and several right and left dentary fragments. The genus and the ''Deltatheridiidae'' family as a whole are thought to be predators. Classification The following cladogram is modified from Averianov ''et al.'', 2010: ...
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