''Deccanolestes'' is a
scansorial
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The habi ...
,
basal Euarchontan from the
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...
(
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian ( ) is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age (uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stage) of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or Upper Cretaceous series (s ...
) and
Paleocene
The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...
Intertrappean Beds
The Intertrappean Beds are a Late Cretaceous and early Paleogene geologic unit in India. These beds are found as interbeds between Deccan Traps layers, including the slightly older Lameta Formation. They consist a number of different subgroups ...
of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. It may be closely related to ''
Sahnitherium
''Sahnitherium'' is a possible basal Euarchontan from the Maastrichtian of the Intertrappean Beds of Andhra Pradesh, India. It may be closely related to '' Deccanolestes.'' The holotype
A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physi ...
''. ''Deccanolestes'' has been referred to
Palaeoryctidae
Palaeoryctidae ("ancient diggers") is an extinct family of non-specialized eutherian mammals from extinct order Palaeoryctida, that lived in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa from the late Cretaceous to the middle Eocene.Gregg F. Gunnell, Th ...
in the past, but recent evidence has shown that it is either the most basal Euarchontan, as the earliest known
Adapisoriculid, or as a stem-
afrotheria
Afrotheria ( from Latin ''Afro-'' "of Africa" + ''theria'' "wild beast") is a superorder of placental mammals, the living members of which belong to groups that are either currently living in Africa or of African origin: golden moles, elephan ...
n.
Species
''Deccanolestes hislopi'' is based on an isolated first upper molar (VPL/JU/NKIM/10). A third molar, a lower third premolar, various other isolated teeth, and some postcranial remains have been referred to it.
''Deccanolestes robustus'' is based on an isolated lower first molar. Isolated teeth and some ankle remains have also been referred to it.
''Deccanolestes narmadensis'' is based on an isolated rear molar.
Alongside ''
Bharattherium
''Bharattherium'' is a mammal that lived in India during the Maastrichtian (latest Cretaceous) and possibly the Paleocene. The genus has a single species, ''Bharattherium bonapartei''. It is part of the gondwanathere family Sudamericidae, which is ...
'', ''Deccanolestes'' is among the two mammal taxa that survived the
KT event in India.
[WILSON, Gregory P, NEW MAMMALIAN FOSSILS FROM THE INTERTRAPPEAN BEDS OF THE
SOUTHERN PART OF THE DECCAN
VOLCANIC PROVINCE AND THE
CRETACEOUS–PALEOGENE TRANSITION IN INDIA, October 27, 2016]
References
External links
Adapisoriculidae
Cretaceous mammals
Extinct animals of India
Prehistoric mammal genera
Fossil taxa described in 1988
{{Cretaceous-mammal-stub