Lambdopsalidae
| Taeniolabidoidea | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Multituberculata |
| Superfamily: | †Taeniolabidoidea |
| Family: | †Lambdopsalidae Chow and Qi, 1978[1] |
| Genera | |
Lambdopsalidae is a family of extinct multituberculate mammals from the Late Paleocene of Asia. They are part of Taeniolabidoidea, a clade otherwise present in the Early Paleocene (and possibly the Late Cretaceous) of North America. The Lambdopsalids probably evolved from a single radiation that spread into Asia from North America in the mid-Paleocene or earlier. They are represented by the genera Lambdopsalis, Sphenopsalis and Prionessus.[2][1] This group was first defined in 1978 by Chow and Tao Qi.[3]
The Lambdopsalids were small mammals, with estimated adult body masses of about 0.4 kilograms (0.88 lb) to 0.8 kilograms (1.8 lb).[4] They are notable for their enlarged teeth that implies adaptations towards leaf grazing,[2] and adaptations for burrowing such as a short and flat snout, robust humeri, stiff neck and enlarged lower incisors. [5][6] This group has a shared dental formula of 2.0.1.21.0.1.2[3] Examples of Lambdopsalis are notable for offering direct evidence of hair and enamel and tooth prism patterns among multituberculates.[7]
Lambdopsalids lived during the Thanetian, the last stage of the Paleocene, with fossils ranging from 59-55 million years ago.[8] They disappeared around the PETM.
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- Kielan-Jaworowska, Zofia; Hurum, J.H. (2001). "Phylogeny and Systematics of Multituberculate Mammals". Palaeontology. 44 (3): 389–429. doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00185.
- Kielan-Jaworowska, Zofia; Qi, Tao (1990). "Fossorial adaptations of a Taeniolabidoid Multituberculate mammal from the Eocene of China". Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 28 (2): 83–94.
- Mao, Fang-Yuan; Wang, Yuan-Qing; Meng, Jin (2015). "A Systematic Study on Tooth Enamel Microstructures of Lambdopsalis bulla (Multituberculate, Mammalia) - Implications for Multituberculate Biology and Phylogeny". PLOS ONE. 10 (5): e0128243. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0128243. PMC 4447277. PMID 26020958.
- Mao, Fang-Yuan; Wang, Yang-Qing; Meng, Jin (2016). "New specimens of the multituberculate mammal Sphenopsalis from China: Implications for phylogeny and biology of taeniolabidoids". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 61 (2): 429–454. doi:10.4202/app.00117.2014.
- Williamson, Thomas E.; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Secord, Ross; Shelley, Sarah (2015). "A new taeniolabidoid multituberculate (Mammalia) from the middle Puercan of the Nacimiento Formation, New Mexico, and a revision of taeniolabidoid systematics and phylogeny". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 177: 183–208. doi:10.1111/zoj.12336.
- Wilson, Gregory P.; Evans, Alistair R.; Corfe, Ian J.; Smits, Peter D.; Fortelius, Mikael; Jernvall, Jukka (2012). "Adaptive radiation of multituberculate mammals before the extinction of dinosaurs". Nature. 483 (7390): 457–460. doi:10.1038/nature10880. PMID 22419156. S2CID 4419772.
Further reading
[edit]- Wood, D. Joseph (2010). The Extinction of the Multituberculates Outside North America: a Global Approach to Testing the Competition Model (M.S.). The Ohio State University.
