|
Gobiconodontidae
Gobiconodontidae is a family of extinct mammals that ranged from the mid-Jurassic to the early Late Cretaceous, though most common during the Early Cretaceous. The Gobiconodontids form a diverse lineage of carnivorous non-therian mammals, and include some of the best preserved Mesozoic mammal specimens. Biology Like many other non-therian mammals, gobiocontids retained classical mammalian synapomorphies like epipubic bones (and likely the associated reproductive constrictions), venomous spurs and sprawling limbs. Through ''Spinolestes'' we also know that they had fur similar to that of modern mammals, with compound hair follicles with primary and secondary hairs. ''Spinolestes'' also possesses a clear diaphragm like modern mammals, as well as spines, dermal scutes and an ossified Meckel's cartilage. Furthermore, it may also display signs of dermatophytosis, suggesting that gobiconodontids, like modern mammals, were vulnerable to this type of fungal infection. Gobiconodontid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Repenomamus
''Repenomamus'' (Latin: "reptile" (reptilis), "mammal" (mammalis)) is a genus of opossum- to badger-sized gobiconodontid mammal containing two species, ''Repenomamus robustus'' and ''Repenomamus giganticus''. Both species are known from fossils found in China that date to the early Cretaceous period, about 125-123.2 million years ago. ''R. robustus'' is one of several Mesozoic mammals for which there is good evidence that it fed on vertebrates, including dinosaurs, though it is not possible to determine if it actively hunted live dinosaurs or scavenged dead ones. ''R. giganticus'' is among the largest mammals known from the Mesozoic era. Classification and discovery The fossils were recovered from the lagerstätte of the Yixian Formation in the Liaoning province of China, which is renowned for its extraordinarily well-preserved fossils of feathered dinosaurs. They have been specifically dated to 125–123.2 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period. ''Repenomamus'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spinolestes
''Spinolestes'' is an extinct mammal genus from the Early Cretaceous of Spain. A gobiconodontid eutriconodont, it is notable for the remarkable degree of preservation, offering profound insights to the biology of non-therian mammals.Thomas Martin, Jesús Marugán-Lobón, Romain Vullo, Hugo Martín-Abad, Zhe-Xi Luo & Angela D. Buscalioni (2015). A Cretaceous eutriconodont and integument evolution in early mammals. Nature 526, 380–384. doi:10.1038/nature14905 Description ''Spinolestes holotype, MCCMLH30000A', hails from Las Hoyas, Spain. The living animal was about 24 centimeters long and weighted somewhere between 50 and 70 grams. As a Konservat-Lagerstätten specimen, it is famous for being remarkably well preserved, including not only the skeleton but also multiple soft tissues like fur, skin, internal organs and ears (both external and internal), a rarity among Mesozoic mammals. Besides soft-tissues, ''Spinolestes'' is also remarkable for its xenarthrous vertebrae, convergen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gobiconodon
''Gobiconodon'' is an extinct genus of carnivorous mammal from the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. It weighed , had a skull of in length, and had in presacral body length. It was one of the largest mammals known from the Mesozoic. Like other gobiconodontids, it possesses several speciations towards carnivory, such as shearing molar teeth, large canine-like incisors and powerful jaw and forelimb musculature, indicating that it probably fed on vertebrate prey; rather uniquely among predatory mammals and other eutriconodonts, the lower canines were vestigial, with the first lower incisor pair having become massive and canine-like. Like the larger ''Repenomamus'' there might be some evidence of scavenging Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding be ....Zofia Kielan-Jaworo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venomous Mammal
Venomous mammals are animals of the class Mammalia that produce venom, which they use to kill or disable prey, to defend themselves from predators or conspecifics or in agonistic encounters. Mammalian venoms form a heterogeneous group with different compositions and modes of action, from three orders of mammals: Eulipotyphla, Monotremata, and Chiroptera. It has been proposed that some members of a fourth order, Primates, are venomous. To explain the rarity of venom delivery in Mammalia, Mark Dufton of the University of Strathclyde has suggested that modern mammalian predators do not need venom because they are able to kill quickly with their teeth or claws, whereas venom, no matter how sophisticated, requires time to disable prey. In spite of the rarity of venom among extant mammals, venom may be an ancestral feature among mammals, as venomous spurs akin to those of the modern platypus are found in most non-therian Mammaliaformes groups.Jørn H. Hurum, Zhe-Xi Luo, and Zofia Kielan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cusp (anatomy)
A cusp is a pointed, projecting, or elevated feature. In animals, it is usually used to refer to raised points on the crowns of teeth. The concept is also used with regard to the leaflets of the four heart valves. The mitral valve, which has two cusps, is also known as the bicuspid valve, and the tricuspid valve has three cusps. In humans A cusp is an occlusal or incisal eminence on a tooth. Canine teeth, otherwise known as cuspids, each possess a single cusp, while premolars, otherwise known as bicuspids, possess two each. Molars normally possess either four or five cusps. In certain populations the maxillary molars, especially first molars, will possess a fifth cusp situated on the mesiolingual cusp known as the Cusp of Carabelli. Buccal Cusp- One other variation of the upper first premolar is the 'Uto-Aztecan' upper premolar. It is a bulge on the buccal cusp that is only found in Native American Indians, with highest frequencies of occurrence in Arizona. The name is no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dermatophytosis
Dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the area affected. Symptoms begin four to fourteen days after exposure. Multiple areas can be affected at a given time. About 40 types of fungus can cause ringworm. They are typically of the ''Trichophyton'', ''Microsporum'', or ''Epidermophyton'' type. Risk factors include using public showers, contact sports such as wrestling, excessive sweating, contact with animals, obesity, and poor immune function. Ringworm can spread from other animals or between people. Diagnosis is often based on the appearance and symptoms. It may be confirmed by either culturing or looking at a skin scraping under a microscope. Prevention is by keeping the skin dry, not walking barefoot in public, and not sharing personal items. Treatment is typically with antifungal creams such as clotrimazole or miconazole. If the scalp is involved, anti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphilestidae
Amphilestidae is a family of Mesozoic mammals, generally regarded as eutriconodonts. They may form a paraphyletic or polyphyletic assemblage, though they share with gobiconodontids their similar tooth occlusion patterns and may be especially closely related to them. They occur from the Middle Jurassic to Cenomanian, and have a distribution across Laurasia. The putative amphilestid '' Tendagurodon'' is considered a non-amphilestid member of Amphilestheria along with the newly described ''Condorodon ''Condorodon'' is a genus of extinct mammals from the Lower Jurassic Cañadón Asfalto Formation of the Cañadón Asfalto Basin in Patagonia, Argentina. The type species is ''C. spanios'', described by Gaetano and Rougier in 2012. Classificati ...'' by Gaetano and Rougier (2012).L. C. Gaetano and G. W. Rougier. 2012. First amphilestid from South America: a molariform from the Jurassic Cañadón Asfalto Formation, Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of Mammalian Evolution References ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triconodontid
Triconodontidae is an extinct family of small, carnivorous mammals belonging to the order Eutriconodonta, endemic to what would become Asia, Europe, North America and probably also Africa and South America during the Jurassic through Cretaceous periods at least from 190–70.6 mya. Triconodontids can be distinguished from other eutriconodonts by the shape of their molars, which bore three main cusps of roughly equal size. During occlusion, the upper and lower molars interlocked tightly, producing a self-sharpening cutting edge. Historically, the triconodontids were thought to have a different occlusion pattern than other eutriconodonts, with the middle cusp of the lower molar (cusp a) fitting between the middle cusp (cusp A) and the front cusp (cusp B) of the upper molar, as in the basal mammaliaform ''Morganucodon''. However, a 2020 study on ''Priacodon'' suggests that triconodontids occluded their molars in the same manner as other eutriconodonts (so-called "embrasure occlusio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Occlusion (dentistry)
Occlusion, in a dental context, means simply the contact between teeth. More technically, it is the relationship between the maxillary (upper) and mandibular (lower) teeth when they approach each other, as occurs during chewing or at rest. Static occlusion refers to contact between teeth when the jaw is closed and stationary, while dynamic occlusion refers to occlusal contacts made when the jaw is moving. The masticatory system also involves the periodontium, the TMJ (and other skeletal components) and the neuromusculature, therefore the tooth contacts should not be looked at in isolation, but in relation to the overall masticatory system. Anatomy of Masticatory System One cannot fully understand occlusion without an in depth understanding of the anatomy including that of the teeth, TMJ, musculature surrounding this and the skeletal components. The Dentition and Surrounding Structures The human dentition consists of 32 permanent teeth and these are distributed between the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. There are three extant subclasses of mammals, one being metatherians: #monotremes: egg laying mammals like the platypus and the echidna, #metatheria: marsupials, which includes three American orders ( Didelphimorphia, Paucituberculata and Microbiotheria) and four Australasian orders (Notoryctemorphia, Dasyuromorphia, Peramelemorphia and Diprotodontia), and the # eutherians: placental mammals, consisting of four superorders divided into 21 orders. Metatherians belong to a subgroup of the northern tribosphenic mammal clade or Boreosphenida. They differ from all other mammals in certain morphologies like their dental formula, which includes about five upper and four lower incisors, a canine, three pre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. These mammals possessed primitive tritubercular (three-cusped) lower molars that were not tribosphenic. This is awkward because tribosphenic molars are commonly found in most therian mammals (there exist some exceptions such as anteaters and some whales, which have no teeth at all). 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scutes
A scute or scutum (Latin: ''scutum''; plural: ''scuta'' "shield") is a bony external plate or scale overlaid with horn, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, and the feet of birds. The term is also used to describe the anterior portion of the mesonotum in insects as well as some arachnids (e.g., the family Ixodidae, the scale ticks). Properties Scutes are similar to scales and serve the same function. Unlike the scales of lizards and snakes, which are formed from the epidermis, scutes are formed in the lower vascular layer of the skin and the epidermal element is only the top surface . Forming in the living dermis, the scutes produce a horny outer layer that is superficially similar to that of scales. Scutes will usually not overlap as snake scales (but see the pangolin). The outer keratin layer is shed piecemeal, and not in one continuous layer of skin as seen in snakes or lizards. The dermal base may contain bone and produce dermal armour. Scutes with a bony ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
