''Peramus'' is an extinct genus of

cladotheria Cladotheria is a clade (sometimes ranked as a legion) of mammals. It contains modern therian mammals (marsupials and placentals) and several extinct groups, such as the dryolestoids, amphitheriids and peramurids. The clade was named in 1975 by M ...

n mammal. It lived in the

Late Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...

and

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Pro ...

of Europe and North Africa.

Species

There are three known extinct species in the genus: * ''

Peramus dubius ''Peramus'' is an extinct genus of cladotherian mammal. It lived in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Europe and North Africa. Species There are three known extinct species in the genus: * '' Peramus dubius'' Lulworth Formation, Unit ...

Lulworth Formation The Lulworth Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in England. It dates from the late Tithonian to the mid Berriasian. It is a subunit of the Purbeck Group. In Dorset, it consists of three members, which are in ascending order, t ...

, United Kingdom,

Berriasian In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision in the entire Cretaceous. It has been taken to span the time between 145.0 ± 4.0 Ma and 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma (million years ago) ...

* ''

Peramus minor ''Peramus'' is an extinct genus of cladotherian mammal. It lived in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Europe and North Africa. Species There are three known extinct species in the genus: * '' Peramus dubius'' Lulworth Formation, Unit ...

'' Lulworth Formation, United Kingdom, Berriasian * ''

Peramus tenuirostris ''Peramus'' is an extinct genus of cladotherian mammal. It lived in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Europe and North Africa. Species There are three known extinct species in the genus: * ''Peramus dubius ''Peramus'' is an extinc ...

'' Lulworth Formation, United Kingdom, Berriasian Additionally, indeterminate remains are known from the

Ksar Metlili Formation The Ksar Metlili Formation is a geological formation in eastern High Atlas of Morocco, it is late Tithonian to Berriasian In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision ...

of Morocco, dating to the

Tithonian In the geological timescale, the Tithonian is the latest age of the Late Jurassic Epoch and the uppermost stage of the Upper Jurassic Series. It spans the time between 152.1 ± 4 Ma and 145.0 ± 4 Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the K ...

-Berriasian, and the

Angeac-Charente bonebed The Angeac-Charente bonebed is a fossil deposit located near Angeac-Charente in western France. It dates to the Berriasian stage of the Early Cretaceous, and is coeval with the Purbeck Group of Southern England. It has amongst the most diverse assem ...

in France, dating to the Berriasian.

Phylogeny

''Peramus'' is generally considered an advanced

n. In the analysis performed by Panciroli and colleagues (2018), ''Peramus'' was recovered as within a clade also including ''

Palaeoxonodon ''Palaeoxonodon'' is an extinct genus of Cladotherian mammal from the Middle Jurassic of England and Scotland. Discovery The first fossils of ''Palaeoxonodon ooliticus'' were found in the Kirtlington cement quarry, Oxfordshire, England. This ...

'' and ''

Amphitherium ''Amphitherium'' is an extinct genus of stem cladotherian mammal that lived during the Middle Jurassic of England. It was one of the first Mesozoic mammals ever described. A recent phylogenetic study found it to be the sister taxon of ''Palaeoxo ...

,'' as derived members of

Cladotheria Cladotheria is a clade (sometimes ranked as a legion) of mammals. It contains modern therian mammals (marsupials and placentals) and several extinct groups, such as the dryolestoids, amphitheriids and peramurids. The clade was named in 1975 by M ...

. ''Peramus'', ''Palaeoxonodon'' and ''Amphitherium'' were united by the shared traits of "convergence of the Meckel’s sulcus with the ventral border of the mandible; and possessing open rooted postcanines." but the placement of Peramus as a more advanced cladotherian cannot be ruled out. In a 2018 analysis by Bi and colleagues, Peramus was recovered in a clade with ''Palaeoxonodon'' and '' Nanolestes'' also as advanced cladotherians. In a 2022 study of cladotherian relationships, it was recovered as a member of

Zatheria Cladotheria is a clade (sometimes ranked as a legion) of mammals. It contains modern therian mammals (marsupials and placentals) and several extinct groups, such as the dryolestoids, amphitheriids and peramurids. The clade was named in 1975 by Ma ...

, closer to Theria than either ''Palaeoxonodon'' and '' Nanolestes.''

References

Prehistoric mammal genera Tithonian genus first appearances Berriasian genus extinctions Late Jurassic mammals of Africa Early Cretaceous mammals of Europe Taxa named by Richard Owen Fossil taxa described in 1871 {{Cretaceous-mammal-stub