Adalatherium remains. Credit: Simon Hoffman and Catherine Pan
The strange features of this mammal make scientists wonder how it could have evolved; “It gives a turn and also breaks a lot of rules.”
Adalatherium is an important part of a very large puzzle on early mammalian evolution in the Southern Hemisphere, with one part still missing in other parts.
New research published today in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Describes a fantastic million 66 million year old mammal that provides profound new insights into the evolutionary history of Gondwana, South Africa, Gondwana – today known as Africa, South America, Australia, Australia, Antarctica, the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Peninsula.
Named Adalatherium, Translated from Malagasy and Greek, meaning “crazy beast”, is described based on an almost complete, exquisitely preserved skeleton, the most perfect for any mammal ever discovered in the Southern Hemisphere before the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Research done over 20 years shows that Adalatherium Most were shoe- or mouse-shaped mammals with “giants” that lived during them Cretaceous Duration.
Life-like reconstruction of Adaltherium hui from the late Cretaceous of Madagascar. Credit: વર Denver Museum of Nature and Science / Andre Atchin
Among its “strange” features are the trunk vertebrae, more muscular hind limbs than most other mammals that have been placed in a more elongated position (like modern crocodiles) attached to the bottomed front legs that are found in mammals today. ), The hind teeth like rabbits and the hind teeth are perfect like any other known mammal, live or extinct, and like a strange gap in the bones at the top of the snout.
David. A team of 14 international researchers led by David Cruz (Denver Museum of Nature and Science) and Dr. Simon Hoffman (New York Institute of Technology and Technology) published a detailed description and analysis of this oposome-sized mammal living in dinosaurs and giant populations. Crocodiles near Madagascar near the end of the Cretaceous period (145¬ -66 million years ago).
The 234-page monographic treatment, consisting of seven separate chapters, is part of the prestigious Society of Vertebrate Paleonology (SVP) Memoir Series, a special annual publication that provides in-depth treatment of very significant vertebrate remnants. The discovery was initially announced in the journal Nature earlier this year.
Adalatherium, From Madagascar, belongs to the extinct group of mammals known as the Gondwanetherians, first discovered in 1980 and, until recently, only a few distinct teeth and jaw fragments were introduced. But those few fossils have already indicated that the Gondvantherians were very different from other contemporary mammals. Many secrets enveloped the Gondvantherians as it was unclear how it would fit into a mammalian family tree.
Now the research team presents the first skeleton for this mysterious group that once roamed South America, Africa, Madagascar, the Indian subcontinent, and even Antarctica.
No skeletal integrity and excellent maintenance Adalatherium It opens new windows into what the Gondwantherians look like and how they live, but the fantastic features are still tangled in the team.
“It is difficult to know what we all know about the skeletal anatomy of living and extinct mammals that mammals like. Adalatherium Can develop; It curves and it also breaks a lot of rules, ”explains Kr.
Although life-like reconstruction Adalatherium Superficial is similar to a run-the-mill badger, its “normality” is only skin deep. Below the surface, his skeleton is nothing less than a foreign part.
As Hoffman puts it, “Adalatherium Is strange. For example, trying to figure out how it moved was challenging, as its front end tells us a completely different story than its back end. “
While his muscular hind legs and large claws on the hind legs may indicate that Adalatherium Was a powerful digger (like a badger), its front legs are more eccentric and more like those of live mammals that can run faster.
No limbs Adalatherium It also shows that his posture was a hybrid between living mammals and more ancient relatives. Its anterior limbs rested below the body (as is found in most mammals today) but its hind limbs were more extensive (like crocodiles and lizards).
This is not, it stops the weirdness.
No teeth AdalatheriumReconstructing, employing high-resolution micro-computed tomography and extensive digital modeling, is an indicator of herbivory, but otherwise exotic.
Just didn’t do it Adalatherium Rabbits- or rats have ever-growing front teeth, but the hind teeth are the exact opposite of any other known mammal, living or extinct. If only these teeth had been found, the mystery of what this animal was would not have been possible! Adding to the visible chaos is a hole at the top of the snout for which there is no parallel.
About the size of the Virginia Opossum, 3.1 kg Adalatherium It was too big for her day. Although not particularly large by today’s standards, it was larger than most clever and mouse-sized mammals living in the Cretaceous.
The geological history of Gondwana provides clues as to why Adalatherium Is very strange.
Adalatherium Was found in rocks near the end of the Cretaceous about 66 million million years ago. At this time Madagascar was already an island separated from Africa by the Indian subcontinent for 150 million years and 200 million years. Says Islands, “The islands are full of strangeness, and so there was enough time Adalatherium To develop its many wonderful exotic features in isolation. “
“Adalatherium Hoffman added that the Southern Hemisphere is an important part of the very large puzzles on early mammal evolution, with part of the other parts still missing, “Hoffman added.
More than anything, the discovery of Adalatherium Demonstrates how much more remains to be learned from the new discoveries of early mammals in Madagascar and other parts of the Southern Hemisphere.
Reference: “Introduction Adalatherium hui (Gondwanatharia, Mammalia) From the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar ”David W. Cruz, Joseph R. Granke, Simon Hoffman, Raymond R. Rogers and Lydia J. Rhantarisoa, 18 December 2020, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
DOI: 10.1080 / 02724634.2020.1805455
