Deltatheridium
Deltatheridium (meaning triangle beast or delta beast) is an extinct species of metatherian. It lived in what is now Mongolia during the Upper Cretaceous, circa 80 million years ago.[1] It was a basal metatherian, which places it near to the start of the lineage that led to the marsupials, such as kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, and opossums.
| Deltatheridium | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Deltatheroida |
| Family: | †Deltatheridiidae |
| Genus: | †Deltatheridium Gregory & Simpson, 1926 |
| Species | |
| |
It had a length of about 15 cm (5.9 in). Its teeth indicate it was carnivorous. One specimen of Archaeornithoides might attest an attack by this mammal, the skull bearing tooth marks that match its teeth.[2]
Other Mesozoic mammals from Mongolia
References
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/12/981203075716.htm
- Elżanowski, A. Wellnhoffer, P. (1993). "Skull of Archaeornithoides From the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia". earth.geology.yale.edu/~ajs/1993/11.1993.08Elzanowski.pdf . American Journal of Science
Further reading
- Parker, Steve. Dinosaurus: the complete guide to dinosaurs. Firefly Books Inc, 2003. Pg. 403
- Rougier, G. W.; Wible, J. R.; Novacek, M. J. (1998). "Implications of Deltatheridium specimens for early marsupial history". Nature. 396 (6710): 459–63. doi:10.1038/24856. PMID 9853752.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.