Sinodelphys
{{Short description|Extinct genus of therian mammals}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = Early Cretaceous, {{fossilrange|125}}
| image = Sinodelphys szalayi.JPG
| image_caption = Fossil specimen, Hong Kong Science Museum
| taxon = Sinodelphys
| authority = Luo et al., 2003
| type_species = {{extinct}}Sinodelphys szalayi
| type_species_authority = Luo et al., 2003
}}
Sinodelphys is an extinct mammal from the Early Cretaceous, estimated to be 125 million years old. It was discovered and described in 2003 in rocks of the Yixian Formation in Liaoning Province, China, by a team of scientists including Zhe-Xi Luo and John Wible.{{cite journal | last1 = O'Leary | first1 = M.A. | last2 = Bloch | first2 = J.I. | last3 = Flynn | first3 = J.J. | last4 = Gaudin | first4 = T.J. | last5 = Giallombardo | first5 = A. | last6 = Giannini | first6 = N.P. | last7 = Goldberg | first7 = S.L. | last8 = Kraatz | first8 = B.P. | last9 = Luo | first9 = Z.-X. | last10 = Meng | first10 = J. | last11 = Ni | first11 = X. | last12 = Novacek | first12 = M.J. | last13 = Perini | first13 = F.A. | last14 = Randall | first14 = Z.S. | last15 = Rougier | first15 = G.W. | last16 = Sargis | first16 = E.J. | last17 = Silcox | first17 = M.T. | last18 = Simmons | first18 = N.B. | last19 = Spaulding | first19 = M. | last20 = Velazco | first20 = P.M. | last21 = Weksler | first21 = M. | last22 = Wible | first22 = J.R. | last23 = Cirranello | first23 = A.L. | year = 2013 | title = The Placental Mammal Ancestor and the Post–K-Pg Radiation of Placentals | journal = Science | volume = 339 | issue = 6120| pages = 662–667 | doi = 10.1126/science.1229237 | pmid = 23393258 | hdl = 11336/7302 | s2cid = 206544776 | hdl-access = free }} While initially suggested to be the oldest known metatherian, later studies interpreted it as a eutherian.
Description
File:Sinodelphys szalayi 7.JPG, Paris]]
Only one fossil specimen is known, a slab and counterslab given catalog number CAGS00-IG03. It is in the collection of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences.
Sinodelphys szalayi grew only 15 cm (5.9 in) long and possibly weighed about 30 g (1.05 oz). Its fossilized skeleton is surrounded by impressions of fur and soft tissue, thanks to the exceptional sediment that preserves such details. Luo et al. (2003) inferred from the foot structure of Sinodelphys that it was a scansorial tree-dweller, like the contemporary Eomaia and modern opossums such as Didelphis. Sinodelphys probably hunted worms and insects.
{{Cite journal
| last = Luo | first = Zhe-Xi |author2=Ji, Qiang |author3=Wible, John R. |author4=Yuan, Chong-Xi
| title = An early Cretaceous tribosphenic mammal and metatherian evolution
| journal = Science
| volume = 302 | issue = 5652 | pages = 1934–1940
| date = 2003-12-12
| issn =
| doi = 10.1126/science.1090718
| pmid = 14671295
}}
Taxonomy
Sinodelphys szalayi, living in China around 125 million years ago, was initially interpreted as the earliest known metatherian.Rincon, P. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3311911.stm Oldest Marsupial Ancestor Found], BBC, December 2003.Pickrell, J. [https://web.archive.org/web/20031217024049/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1215_031215_oldestmarsupial.html Oldest Marsupial Fossil Found in China], National Geographic, December 2003. This makes it almost contemporary to the eutherian Acristatherium, which has been found in the same area.{{cite journal |author=Yaoming Hu |author2=Jin Meng |author3=Chuankui Li |author4=Yuanqing Wang |name-list-style=amp |year=2010 |title=New basal eutherian mammal from the Early Cretaceous Jehol biota, Liaoning, China |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B |volume=277 |issue=1679 |pages=229–236 |editor1=Xing Xu |editor2=Zhe-Xi Luo |editor3=Jia-Yu Rong |doi=10.1098/rspb.2009.0203 |pmid=19419990 |pmc=2842663 }} However, Bi et al. (2018) reinterpreted Sinodelphys as an early member of Eutheria.{{Cite journal|author1=Shundong Bi|author2=Xiaoting Zheng|author3=Xiaoli Wang|author4=Natalie E. Cignetti|author5=Shiling Yang|author6=John R. Wible|year=2018|title=An Early Cretaceous eutherian and the placental–marsupial dichotomy|journal=Nature|volume=558|issue=7710|pages=390–395|doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0210-3|pmid=29899454}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Metatheria|M.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1064780}}
Category:Prehistoric eutherians
Category:Early Cretaceous mammals of Asia
Category:Fossil taxa described in 2003
Category:Prehistoric mammal genera
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