''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 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, 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 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 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'' 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 ''Nanolestes'' is an extinct genus of mammals in the order Amphitheriida from the Late Jurassic of Eurasia. Two species, ''N. krusati'' and ''N. drescherae'' are known from the Alcobaça Formation in Portugal. Another species, ''N. mackennai'', ...

'' also as advanced cladotherians. In a 2022 study of cladotherian relationships, it was recovered as a member of Zatheria, closer to Theria than either ''Palaeoxonodon'' and ''

.''

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