Shenshou
{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammaliaforms}}
{{speciesbox
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|160}} Oxfordian
| image = Shenshou NT small.jpg
| genus= Shenshou
| parent_authority = Bi, Wang, Guan, Sheng and Meng, 2014
| species = lui
| authority = Bi, Wang, Guan, Sheng and Meng, 2014
}}
Shenshou is a genus of haramiyidan dating from the Oxfordian stage of the Late Jurassic, approximately 160 million years ago. Fossils were recovered from the Tiaojishan Formation in the Liaoning province of China.{{cite journal |last1=Bi |first1=Shundong |last2=Wang |first2=Yuanqing |first3=Jian|last3=Guan|last4=Sheng |first4=Xia |last5=Meng |first5=Jin |date=10 September 2014 |title=Three new Jurassic euharamiyidan species reinforce early divergence of mammals |journal=Nature |publisher=Nature Publishing Group |volume= 514|issue= 7524|pages= 579–584|doi=10.1038/nature13718 |pmid=25209669|bibcode=2014Natur.514..579B |s2cid=4471574 }}
Etymology
Description
Shenshou is thought to be arboreal because it had a light frame, a prehensile and elongated tail, and hands and feet which had evolved for clutching and enabled the animal to climb.{{cite web | url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140910-fossil-mammal-china-triassic-origin/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912203928/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140910-fossil-mammal-china-triassic-origin/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 12, 2014 | title= Chisel-Toothed Beasts Push Back Origin of Mammals | author=Switek, Brian | website=National Geographic | date= 10 September 2014 | access-date = 12 September 2014}}{{cite web | url=http://www.livescience.com/47774-ancient-squirrels-push-back-mammal-evolution.html | title= Ancient Squirrel-Like Creatures Push Back Mammal Evolution | author=Choi, Charles Q. | website=LiveScience | date= 10 September 2014 | access-date = 11 September 2014}} These features, including the large incisors of Shenshou, made the animal resemble a squirrel. However, Shenshou are not the direct ancestors of squirrels, the resemblance being purely due to convergent evolution. Individuals are believed to have weighed {{convert|300|g|oz}}. The presence of a three-boned middle ear suggests these animals were mammals; however, it has since been determined haramiyidans developed their ear bones independently from true mammals and are Mammaliaformes outside of the mammal crown-group.{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Jawbone in Rock May Clear Up a Mammal Family Mystery |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/science/haramiyid-jawbone-in-rock-may-clear-up-a-mammal-family-mystery.html |date=16 November 2015 |work=New York Times |access-date=17 November 2015 }}{{cite journal |last1=Luo |first1=Zhe-Xi |last2=Gates
|first2=Stephen M. |last3=Jenkins Jr. |first3=Farish A. |last4=Amaral |first4=William W. |last5=Shubin |first5=Neil H. |title=Mandibular and dental characteristics of Late Triassic mammaliaform Haramiyavia and their ramifications for basal mammal evolution |doi=10.1073/pnas.1519387112 |pmid=26630008 |date=16 November 2015 |journal=PNAS |volume=112 |issue=51 |pages=E7101–E7109|pmc=4697399 |bibcode=2015PNAS..112E7101L |doi-access=free }}Qing-Jin Meng; David M. Grossnickle; Di Liu; Yu-Guang Zhang; April I. Neander; Qiang Ji; Zhe-Xi Luo (2017). "New gliding mammaliaforms from the Jurassic". Nature. in press. doi:10.1038/nature23476. The teeth, which have a number of cusps, suggest that Shenshou was probably an omnivore, most likely with a diet of fruits, nuts and insects.{{cite web| url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140910132522.htm | title=Three extinct squirrel-like species discovered: Mammals may have originated much earlier than thought| website=ScienceDaily |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |date=10 September 2014| access-date=12 September 2014}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Cynodontia|M.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q18121253}}
Category:Prehistoric cynodont genera
Category:Late Jurassic synapsids of Asia
Category:Prehistoric animals of China
Category:Fossil taxa described in 2014
Category:Monotypic prehistoric mammal genera
Category:Taxa named by Shundong Bi
Category:Taxa named by Yuanqing Wang
Category:Taxa named by Jian Guan