Deccanolestes

Deccanolestes is a scansorial, basal Euarchontan from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) and Paleocene Intertrappean Beds of Andhra Pradesh, India. It may be closely related to Sahnitherium. Deccanolestes has been referred to Palaeoryctidae in the past, but recent evidence has shown the it is either the most basal Euarchontan,[1] as the earliest known Adapisoriculid,[2] or as a stem-afrotherian.[3]

Deccanolestes
Temporal range: Maastrichtian–Paleocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Infraclass:
Eutheria
Genus:
Deccanolestes

Prasad & Sahni, 1988
Species
  • D. hislopi Prasad & Sahni, 1988 (type)
  • D. robustus Prasad, Jaeger, Sahni, Gheerbrandt & Khajuria, 1994
  • D. narmadensis Prasad, Verma, Gheerbrant, Goswami, Khosla, Parmar, & A. Sahni, 2010

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.[4]

Deccanolestes robustus is based on an isolated lower first molar. Isolated teeth and some ankle remains have also been referred to it.[5]

Deccanolestes narmadensis is based on an isolated rear molar.[6]

Alongside Bharattherium, Deccanolestes is among the two mammal taxa that survived the KT event in India.[7]

References
  1. Boyer, Doug M.; Prasad, Guntupalli V. R.; Krause, David W.; Godinot, Marc; Goswami, Anjali; Verma, Omkar; Flynn, John J. (2010). "New postcrania of Deccanolestes from the Late Cretaceous of India and their bearing on the evolutionary and biogeographic history of euarchontan mammals". Naturwissenschaften. 97 (4): 365–77. doi:10.1007/s00114-010-0648-0. PMID 20130827.
  2. Smith, Thierry; Bast, Eric; Sigé, Bernard (2010). "Euarchontan affinity of Paleocene Afro-European adapisoriculid mammals and their origin in the late Cretaceous Deccan Traps of India". Naturwissenschaften. 97 (4): 417–22. doi:10.1007/s00114-010-0651-5. PMID 20174778.
  3. Erik R. Seiffert, The Oldest and Youngest Records of Afrosoricid Placentals from the Fayum Depression of Northern Egypt
  4. Prasad GVR, Sahni A (1988) First Cretaceous mammal from India. Nature 332:638–640.
  5. G. V. R. Prasad, J. J. Jaeger, A. Sahni, E. Gheerbrant, and C. K. Khajuria. 1994. Eutherian mammals from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) inter-trappean beds of Naskal, Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 14(2):260-277
  6. G. V. R. Prasad, O. Verma, E. Gheerbrant, A. Goswami, A. Khosla, V. Parmar, and A. Sahni. 2010. First mammal evidence from the Late Cretaceous of India for biotic dispersal between India and Africa at the KT transition. Comptes Rendus Palevol 9:63-71
  7. 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


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