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Mammaliamorpha
Mammaliamorpha is a clade of cynodonts. It contains the clades Tritylodontidae and Mammaliaformes, as well as a few genera that do not belong to either of these groups. The family Tritheledontidae has also been placed in Mammaliamorpha by some phylogenetic analyses, but has been recovered outside the clade by others. According to a 2022 study based on inner ear anatomy, Mammaliamorpha may be the clade in which endothermy ("warm-bloodedness") first appeared in the mammalian lineage. Classification Mammaliamorpha was named in 1988 by the American palaeontologist Timothy B. Rowe, who defined it as comprising "the last common ancestor of Tritylodontidae and Mammalia, and all its descendants". The cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to d ... below is adapted from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tritylodontidae
Tritylodontidae ("three-knob teeth", named after the shape of their cheek teeth) is an extinct family of small to medium-sized, highly specialized mammal-like cynodonts, bearing several mammalian traits like erect limbs, endothermy and details of the skeleton. They were the last-known family of the non-mammaliaform synapsids, persisting into the Early Cretaceous. Most tritylodontids are thought to have been herbivorous, feeding on vegetation, such as stems, leaves, and roots, although at least one may have had a more omnivorous diet. Tritylodontid fossils are found in the Americas, South Africa, and Eurasia—they appear to have had an almost global distribution, including Antarctica. Description The skull of tritylodontids had a high sagittal crest. They retained the primitive condition of the joint between the quadrate bone of the skull and the articular bone of the lower jaw—the retention of the joint is one of the reasons they are technically regarded to not be mam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tritylodontid
Tritylodontidae ("three-knob teeth", named after the shape of their cheek teeth) is an extinct family of small to medium-sized, highly specialized mammal-like cynodonts, bearing several mammalian traits like erect limbs, endothermy and details of the skeleton. They were the last-known family of the non-mammaliaform synapsids, persisting into the Early Cretaceous. Most tritylodontids are thought to have been herbivorous, feeding on vegetation, such as stems, leaves, and roots, although at least one may have had a more omnivorous diet. Tritylodontid fossils are found in the Americas, South Africa, and Eurasia—they appear to have had an almost global distribution, including Antarctica. Description The skull of tritylodontids had a high sagittal crest. They retained the primitive condition of the joint between the quadrate bone of the skull and the articular bone of the lower jaw—the retention of the joint is one of the reasons they are technically regarded to not be mammals, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammaliaformes
Mammaliaformes ("mammalian forms") is a clade that contains the crown group mammals and their closest Extinction, extinct relatives; the group adaptive radiation, radiated from earlier probainognathian cynodonts. It is defined as the clade originating from the most recent common ancestor of Morganucodonta and the crown group mammals; the latter is the clade originating with the most recent common ancestor of extant Monotremata, Marsupialia, and Placentalia. Besides Morganucodonta and the crown group mammals, Mammaliaformes includes Docodonta and ''Hadrocodium'' as well as the Triassic ''Tikitherium'', the earliest known member of the group. Mammaliaformes is a term of phylogenetic nomenclature. In contrast, the assignment of organisms to Mammalia has traditionally been founded on traits and, on this basis, Mammalia is slightly more inclusive than Mammaliaformes. In particular, trait-based taxonomy generally includes ''Adelobasileus'' and ''Sinoconodon'' in Mammalia, though they fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brasilitherium
''Brasilodon'' ("tooth from Brazil") is an extinct genus of small, mammal-like cynodonts that lived in what is now Brazil during the Norian age of the Late Triassic epoch, about 225.42 million years ago. While no complete skeletons have been found, the length of ''Brasilodon'' has been estimated at around . Its dentition shows that it was most likely an insectivore. The genus is monotypic, containing only the species ''B. quadrangularis''. ''Brasilodon'' belongs to the family Brasilodontidae, whose members were some of the closest relatives of mammals, the only cynodonts alive today. Two other brasilodontid genera, ''Brasilitherium'' and ''Minicynodon'', are now considered to be junior synonyms of ''Brasilodon''. Discovery and naming The first three specimens referred to ''Brasilodon quadrangularis'' were found at the Linha São Luiz site, a quarry near the town of Faxinal do Soturno in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The rocks where ''Brasilodon'' was found belong to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brasilodontidae
''Brasilodon'' ("tooth from Brazil") is an extinct genus of small, mammal-like cynodonts that lived in what is now Brazil during the Norian age of the Late Triassic epoch, about 225.42 million years ago. While no complete skeletons have been found, the length of ''Brasilodon'' has been estimated at around . Its dentition shows that it was most likely an insectivore. The genus is monotypic, containing only the species ''B. quadrangularis''. ''Brasilodon'' belongs to the family Brasilodontidae, whose members were some of the closest relatives of mammals, the only cynodonts alive today. Two other brasilodontid genera, ''Brasilitherium'' and ''Minicynodon'', are now considered to be junior synonyms of ''Brasilodon''. Discovery and naming The first three specimens referred to ''Brasilodon quadrangularis'' were found at the Linha São Luiz site, a quarry near the town of Faxinal do Soturno in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The rocks where ''Brasilodon'' was found belong to the upp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brasilodon
''Brasilodon'' ("tooth from Brazil") is an extinct genus of small, mammal-like cynodonts that lived in what is now Brazil during the Norian age of the Late Triassic epoch, about 225.42 million years ago. While no complete skeletons have been found, the length of ''Brasilodon'' has been estimated at around . Its dentition shows that it was most likely an insectivore. The genus is monotypic, containing only the species ''B. quadrangularis''. ''Brasilodon'' belongs to the family Brasilodontidae, whose members were some of the closest relatives of mammals, the only cynodonts alive today. Two other brasilodontid genera, ''Brasilitherium'' and ''Minicynodon'', are now considered to be junior synonyms of ''Brasilodon''. Discovery and naming The first three specimens referred to ''Brasilodon quadrangularis'' were found at the Linha São Luiz site, a quarry near the town of Faxinal do Soturno in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The rocks where ''Brasilodon'' was found belong to the uppe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles (including birds) from which they diverged in the Carboniferous, over 300 million years ago. Around 6,400 extant species of mammals have been described divided into 29 orders. The largest orders, in terms of number of species, are the rodents, bats, and Eulipotyphla (hedgehogs, moles, shrews, and others). The next three are the Primates (including humans, apes, monkeys, and others), the Artiodactyla ( cetaceans and even-toed ungulates), and the Carnivora (cats, dogs, seals, and others). In terms of cladistics, which reflects evolutionary history, mammals are the only living members of the Synapsida (synapsids); this clade, together with Saur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endothermy
An endotherm (from Greek ἔνδον ''endon'' "within" and θέρμη ''thermē'' "heat") is an organism that maintains its body at a metabolically favorable temperature, largely by the use of heat released by its internal bodily functions instead of relying almost purely on ambient heat. Such internally generated heat is mainly an incidental product of the animal's routine metabolism, but under conditions of excessive cold or low activity an endotherm might apply special mechanisms adapted specifically to heat production. Examples include special-function muscular exertion such as shivering, and uncoupled oxidative metabolism, such as within brown adipose tissue. Only birds and mammals are extant universally endothermic groups of animals. However, Argentine black and white tegu, leatherback sea turtles, lamnid sharks, tuna and billfishes, cicadas, and winter moths are also endothermic. Unlike mammals and birds, some reptiles, particularly some species of python and tegu, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinoconodon
''Sinoconodon'' is an extinct genus of mammaliamorphs that appears in the fossil record of the Lufeng Formation of China in the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic period, about 193 million years ago. While sharing many plesiomorphic traits with other non-mammaliaform cynodonts, it possessed a special, secondarily evolved jaw joint between the dentary and the squamosal bones, which in more derived taxa would replace the primitive tetrapod one between the articular and quadrate bones. The presence of a dentary-squamosal joint is a trait historically used to define mammals. Description This animal had skull of which suggest a presacral body length of and weight about due to the similar parameters to the European hedgehog. ''Sinoconodon'' closely resembled early mammaliaforms like ''Morganucodon'', but it is regarded as more basal, differing substantially from ''Morganucodon'' in its dentition and growth habits. Like most other non-mammalian tetrapods, such as reptiles and amp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudotherium
''Pseudotherium'' ("false beast") is an extinct genus of mammaliamorph cynodonts from the Late Triassic of Argentina. It contains one species, ''P. argentinus'', which was first described in 2019 from remains found in the La Peña Member of the Ischigualasto Formation in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin. Discovery and naming The holotype and only known specimen, PVSJ 882, was discovered in 2006 by Argentine palaeontologist Ricardo N. Martínez during an expedition to the Ischigualasto Formation. It consists of a partial skull lacking the lower jaw, quadrate bones and most of the zygomatic arches and premaxillae. The generic epithet ''Pseudotherium'' is derived from the Greek words , meaning "false", and , meaning "beast". The specific name ''argentinus'' references the country of Argentina where it was found. Description ''Pseudotherium'' would have been a relatively large cynodont; excluding its missing premaxillae, the holotype skull is in length. Running along the top of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Probainognathus
''Probainognathus'' meaning “progressive jaw” is an extinct genus of cynodonts that lived around 235 to 221.5 million years ago, during the Late Triassic in what is now South America. ''Probainognathus'' is a member of the family Probainognathidae, and is a close relative of the family Chiniquodontidae.Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database. Probainognathus Romer 1970 (therapsid). PaleoDB taxon number: 39225 , http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=80895 The various similarities to Chiniquodontidae led Alfred Romer to initially suggest ''Probainognathus'' be placed within that family, but it was subsequently decided that the differences were enough to warrant its placement within Probainognathidae.Romer, A.S. 1973. The Chanares (Argentina) Triassic reptile fauna. XVIII. Probelesodon minor, a new species of carnivorous cynodont; family Probainognathidae nov. Breviora, 401:1-4 ''Probainognathus jenseni'' was a species of small, carnivorous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kayentatherium Wellesi
''Kayentatherium'' is an extinct genus of tritylodontid cynodonts that lived during the Early Jurassic. It is one of two tritylodonts from the Kayenta Formation of northern Arizona, United States. ''Kayentatherium'' means "Kayenta Beast", and is named for the geological formation in which it was found, the Kayenta Formation. ''Kayentatherium'' is known from several specimens.Kermack, D. 1982. A new tritylodont from the Kayenta Formation of Arizona. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 76. 1-17.Sues, Hans-Dieter & F. A. Jenkins. 2006. The Postcranial Skeleton of Kayentatherium Wellesi from the Lower Jurassic Kayenta Formation of Arizona and the Phylogenetic Significance of Postcranial Features in Tritylodontid Cynodonts in: Carrano, Matthew T., Gaudin, T. J., Blob, R. W. and Wible, J. R., Amniote Paleobiology: Perspectives on the Evolution of Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles: The University of Chicago Press. pp. 114-152. The specific name honors paleontologist Samuel Welles, who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
