''Vintana sertichi'' (from Malagasy vintana, "luck" ) is an early groundhog-like mammal dating from the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...

, approximately 66 million years ago. Scientists found the lone

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

, a skull, on

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

's west coast in the

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval ...

Maevarano Formation The Maevarano Formation is a Late Cretaceous sedimentary rock formation found in the Mahajanga Province of northwestern Madagascar. It is most likely Maastrichtian in age, and records a seasonal, semiarid environment with rivers that had greatly v ...

. ''Vintana'' is extremely relevant to the understanding of

gondwanatheres Gondwanatheria is an extinct group of mammaliaforms that lived in parts of Gondwana, including Madagascar, India, South America, Africa and Antarctica during the Upper Cretaceous through the Paleogene (and possibly much earlier, if '' Allostaff ...

because it is the first well-preserved skull, as opposed to previous fragments and teeth. Establishing a connection with

multituberculates Multituberculata (commonly known as multituberculates, named for the multiple tubercles of their teeth) is an extinct order of rodent-like mammals with a fossil record spanning over 130 million years. They first appeared in the Middle Jurassic, a ...

and haramiyidans in the theriiform clade

Allotheria Allotheria (meaning "other beasts", from the Greek , '–other and , '–wild animal) is an extinct branch of successful Mesozoic mammals. The most important characteristic was the presence of lower molariform teeth equipped with two longitudin ...

, it is a rather unusual animal, possessing massive lateral flanges in its skull whose exact purpose is poorly understood, as well as massive olfactory bulbs. A rather large animal at a weight of , ''Vintana'' also represents another example of a considerably large Mesozoic mammal, alongside forms like ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Didelphodon ''Didelphodon'' (from ''is''/nowiki>.html" ;"title="/nowiki>''is''/nowiki>">/nowiki>''is''/nowiki> "opossum" plus "tooth") is a genus of stagodont metatherians from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Description Although perhaps little l ...

''.

References

External links

* Cretaceous Madagascar Cretaceous mammals of Africa Fossils of Madagascar Fossil taxa described in 2014 Maevarano fauna Maastrichtian life Taxa named by David W. Krause Taxa named by Simone Hoffmann Taxa named by John R. Wible Taxa named by E. Christopher Kirk Taxa named by Julia A. Schultz Taxa named by Wighart von Koenigswald Taxa named by Joseph R. Groenke Taxa named by James B. Rossie Taxa named by Patrick M. O'Connor (herpetologist) Taxa named by Erik R. Seiffert Taxa named by Elizabeth R. Dumont Taxa named by Waymon L. Holloway Taxa named by Raymond R. Rogers Taxa named by Lydia J. Rahantarisoa Taxa named by Addison D. Kemp Taxa named by Haingoson Andriamialison {{Cretaceous-mammal-stub

See also

References

External links