Adalatherium

Adalatherium (meaning "crazy beast") is an extinct gondwanatherian that lived on Madagascar during the Cretaceous period, during the Maastrichtian.[1][2] The discovery of the first nearly-complete Adalatherium skeleton from the Maevarano Formation was announced in April 2020.

Adalatherium
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70–65.8 Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Clade: †Gondwanatheria
Family: †Adalatheriidae
Krause et. al, 2020
Genus: †Adalatherium
Krause et. al, 2020
Species:
†A. hui
Binomial name
†Adalatherium hui
Krause et. al, 2020

While typical mammals found from that era were around the size of a mouse, the skeleton found — thought to merely be a juvenile — was 60 cm (2 ft) long.[3] It is depicted in reconstructions as being built somewhat like a badger. Its skeleton is the most complete of any Southern Hemisphere Mesozoic mammal. Additionally, the front of the skull contains more foramina than any known mammal.[4][5]

References
  1. Krause, David W.; Hoffmann, Simone; Hu, Yaoming; Wible, John R.; Rougier, Guillermo W.; Kirk, E. Christopher; Groenke, Joseph R.; Rogers, Raymond R.; Rossie, James B.; Schultz, Julia A.; Evans, Alistair R. (2020-04-29). "Skeleton of a Cretaceous mammal from Madagascar reflects long-term insularity". Nature: 1–7. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2234-8. ISSN 1476-4687.
  2. "'Crazy beast' lived among last of dinosaurs". BBC News. 2020-04-29. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  3. Rice, Doyle (April 2020). "The fossil of a bizarre mammal, called 'crazy beast,' has been discovered in Madagascar". USA Today. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  4. Stony Brook University (April 29, 2020). "Marooned on Mesozoic Madagascar: Researchers discover 66-million-year-old 'crazy beast'". phys.org. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  5. This 'crazy beast' was a weird early mammal that lived among dinosaurs


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