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Volaticotherium
''Volaticotherium antiquum'' (meaning "ancient gliding beast") is an extinct, gliding, insectivorous mammal that lived in Asia during the Jurassic period, around 164 mya. It is the only member of the genus ''Volaticotherium''. The discovery of ''Volaticotherium'' provided the earliest-known record of a gliding mammal (70 million years older than the next oldest example), until the discovery of the contemporary haramiyidans '' Maiopatagium'', '' Vilevolodon'' and '' Xianshou'', and provided further evidence of mammalian diversity during the Mesozoic Era. The closely related and significantly older '' Argentoconodon'' shows similar post-cranial adaptations for aerial locomotion also seen in ''Volaticotherium''. Discovery The only known fossil of ''Volaticotherium'' was recovered from the Daohugou Beds of Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, China. The age of the Daohugou Beds is currently uncertain and the subject of debate, but most studies suggest an age of around 164 plus or mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eutriconodonta
Eutriconodonta is an order of early mammals. Eutriconodonts existed in Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America during the Jurassic and the Cretaceous periods. The order was named by Kermack ''et al.'' in 1973 as a replacement name for the paraphyletic Triconodonta. Traditionally seen as the classical Mesozoic small mammalian insectivores, discoveries over the years have shown them to be among the best examples of the diversity of mammals in this time period, including a vast variety of bodyplans, ecological niches and locomotion methods. Classification "Triconodonta" had long been used as the name for an order of early mammals which were close relatives of the ancestors of all present-day mammals, characterized by molar teeth with three main cusps on a crown that were arranged in a row. The group originally included only the family Triconodontidae and taxa that were later assigned to the separate family Amphilestidae, but was later expanded to include other taxa such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
