Login
Login

gondwanatheria

{{Short description|Extinct group of Mammaliaformes that lived during the Upper Cretaceous through the Miocene}}

{{automatic taxobox

| name = Gondwanatheres

| image_caption = Skull of Adalatherium

| image2 = Sudamerica jaw.svg

| image2_caption = Mandible of Sudamerica

| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Late Cretaceous|Miocene}}

| image = Adalatherium_skull.svg

| taxon = Gondwanatheria

| authority = Mones, 1987

| subdivision_ranks = Subgroups

| subdivision = * ?†Allostaffia

  • Family †Sudamericidae
  • †Bharattherium
  • †Galulatherium?
  • †Gondwanatherium
  • †Lavanify
  • †Patagonia?{{cite journal |last1=Chimento |first1=Nicolás R. |last2=Agnolin |first2=Federico L. |last3=Novas |first3=Fernando E. |title=The bizarre 'metatherians' Groeberia and Patagonia, late surviving members of gondwanatherian mammals |journal=Historical Biology |date=22 April 2014 |volume=27 |issue=5 |pages=603–623 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2014.903945 |s2cid=216591096 |hdl=11336/85076 |hdl-access=free }}
  • †Sudamerica
  • †Vintana
  • Family †Ferugliotheriidae
  • †Ferugliotherium
  • †Trapalcotherium
  • (?) †Argentodites
  • (?) †Magallanodon
  • Family †Adalatheriidae
  • †Adalatherium
  • Family ?†Groeberiidae Patterson, 1952
  • †Groeberia
  • ?†Klohnia
  • ?†Epiklohnia
  • ?†Praedens
  • Family unknown
  • †Greniodon{{cite journal |author=Francisco J. Goin |author2=Marcelo F. Tejedor |author3=Laura Chornogubsky |author4=Guillermo M. López |author5=Javier N. Gelfo |author6=Mariano Bond |author7=Michael O. Woodburne |author8=Yamila Gurovich |author9=Marcelo Reguero |year=2012 |title=Persistence of a Mesozoic, non-therian mammalian lineage (Gondwanatheria) in the mid-Paleogene of Patagonia |journal=Naturwissenschaften |volume=99 |issue=6 |pages=449–463 |doi=10.1007/s00114-012-0919-z |pmid=22584426|bibcode=2012NW.....99..449G |s2cid=14077735 }}

}}

Gondwanatheria is an extinct group of mammaliaforms that lived in parts of Gondwana, including Madagascar, India, South America, Africa, and Antarctica during the Upper Cretaceous through the Miocene (and possibly much earlier, if Allostaffia is a member of this group{{cite book |last1=Chimento |first1=Nicolas |last2=Agnolin |first2=Federico |last3=Martinelli |first3=Agustin |date=May 2016 |chapter=Mesozoic Mammals from South America: Implications for understanding early mammalian faunas from Gondwana |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309431142 |pages=199–209 |title=Historia Evolutiva y Paleobiogeográfica de los Vertebrados de América del Sur }}). Until recently, they were known only from fragmentary remains.{{cite book | last=Kraus | first=David W. |author-link1=David W. Krause | title=Vintana Sertichi (Mammalia, Gondwanatheria) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar | location=[Lincoln, NE] | publisher=Society of Vertebrate Paleontology | year=2014 | pages=1–2}} They are generally considered to be closely related to the multituberculates and likely the euharamiyidians, well known from the Northern Hemisphere, with which they form the clade Allotheria.{{Cite journal |last1=Hoffmann |first1=Simone |last2=Beck |first2=Robin M. D. |last3=Wible |first3=John R. |last4=Rougier |first4=Guillermo W. |last5=Krause |first5=David W. |date=2020-12-14 |title=Phylogenetic placement of Adalatherium hui (Mammalia, Gondwanatheria) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar: implications for allotherian relationships |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2020.1801706 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |language=en |volume=40 |issue=sup1 |pages=213–234 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2020.1801706 |bibcode=2020JVPal..40S.213H |s2cid=230968231 |issn=0272-4634}}

Classification

File:Vintana NT small.jpg

For several decades the affinities of the group were not clear, being first interpreted as early xenarthrans, or "toothless" mammals similar to the modern anteater. A variety of studies have placed them as allotheres related to multituberculates, possibly even true multituberculates, closer to cimolodonts than "plagiaulacidans" are.{{cite journal |last1=Krause |first1=David W. |last2=Hoffmann |first2=Simone |last3=Wible |first3=John R. |last4=Kirk |first4=E. Christopher |last5=Schultz |first5=Julia A. |last6=von Koenigswald |first6=Wighart |last7=Groenke |first7=Joseph R. |last8=Rossie |first8=James B. |last9=O'Connor |first9=Patrick M. |last10=Seiffert |first10=Erik R. |last11=Dumont |first11=Elizabeth R. |last12=Holloway |first12=Waymon L. |last13=Rogers |first13=Raymond R. |last14=Rahantarisoa |first14=Lydia J. |last15=Kemp |first15=Addison D. |last16=Andriamialison |first16=Haingoson |title=First cranial remains of a gondwanatherian mammal reveal remarkable mosaicism |journal=Nature |date=5 November 2014 |volume=515 |issue=7528 |pages=512–517 |doi=10.1038/nature13922 |pmid=25383528 |bibcode=2014Natur.515..512K |s2cid=4395258 }}{{cite news |title=Fossil From Dinosaur Era Reveals Big Mammal With Super Senses |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141105-mammal-evolution-vintana-fossil-science/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105183144/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141105-mammal-evolution-vintana-fossil-science/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 5, 2014 |work=National Geographic News |date=5 November 2014 }}{{cite news |last=Wilford |first=John Noble |title=Fossil's Unusual Size and Location Offer Clues in Evolution of Mammals |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/06/science/madagascar-fossil-vintana-mammals-evolution.html |date=November 5, 2014 |work=New York Times |access-date=November 6, 2014 }} However, a more recent study recovered them as nested among haramiyidans, rendering them as non-mammalian cynodonts.{{cite journal |last1=Huttenlocker |first1=Adam K. |last2=Grossnickle |first2=David M. |last3=Kirkland |first3=James I. |last4=Schultz |first4=Julia A. |last5=Luo |first5=Zhe-Xi |title=Late-surviving stem mammal links the lowermost Cretaceous of North America and Gondwana |journal=Nature |date=23 May 2018 |volume=558 |issue=7708 |pages=108–112 |doi=10.1038/s41586-018-0126-y |pmid=29795343 |bibcode=2018Natur.558..108H |s2cid=43921185 }} A more recently described specimen has since recovered them as allotheres closely related to multituberculates,{{cite journal |last1=Krause |first1=David W. |last2=Hoffmann |first2=Simone |last3=Hu |first3=Yaoming |last4=Wible |first4=John R. |last5=Rougier |first5=Guillermo W. |last6=Kirk |first6=E. Christopher |last7=Groenke |first7=Joseph R. |last8=Rogers |first8=Raymond R. |last9=Rossie |first9=James B. |last10=Schultz |first10=Julia A. |last11=Evans |first11=Alistair R. |last12=von Koenigswald |first12=Wighart |last13=Rahantarisoa |first13=Lydia J. |title=Skeleton of a Cretaceous mammal from Madagascar reflects long-term insularity |journal=Nature |date=29 April 2020 |volume=581 |issue=7809 |pages=421–427 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2234-8 |pmid=32461642 |bibcode=2020Natur.581..421K |s2cid=216650606 |url=https://researchmgt.monash.edu/ws/files/469334497/310126799_oa.pdf }} but this was soon after followed by a study recovering them as part of Euharamiyida, which itself was placed inside crown-group Mammalia.{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1098/rspb.2020.0943|title = Tip dating supports novel resolutions of controversial relationships among early mammals|year = 2020|last1 = King|first1 = Benedict|last2 = Beck|first2 = Robin M. D.|journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume = 287|issue = 1928|pmid = 32517606|pmc = 7341916}}

There are three known families within Gondwanatheria. The family Sudamericidae was named by Scillato-Yané and Pascual in 1984, and includes the vast majority of named taxa. The family Ferugliotheriidae was named by José Bonaparte in 1986, and includes one genus, Ferugliotherium, and possibly a few other forms like Trapalcotherium from the Late Cretaceous of South America. Ferugliotheriidae are considered the most basal gondawanatherians, and are sometimes recovered outside the group.

File:Allotheria Cladogram Per Chimento 2015.png

Further fossils have come from India, Madagascar and Antarctica. A possible Ferugliotherium-like species occurs in Maastrichtian deposits of Mexico, extending the clade to North America.SVP 2015{{full|date=May 2020}}

The youngest gondwanatherians are known from the Eocene of South America and Antarctica.{{Cite journal |last1=Goin |first1=Francisco J. |last2=Reguero |first2=Marcelo A. |last3=Pascual |first3=Rosendo |last4=Koenigswald |first4=Wighart von |last5=Woodburne |first5=Michael O. |last6=Case |first6=Judd A. |last7=Marenssi |first7=Sergio A. |last8=Vieytes |first8=Carolina |last9=Vizcaíno |first9=Sergio F. |date=2006-01-01 |title=First gondwanatherian mammal from Antarctica |url=https://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/258/1/135 |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |language=en |volume=258 |issue=1 |pages=135–144 |doi=10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.258.01.10 |bibcode=2006GSLSP.258..135G |s2cid=129493664 |issn=0305-8719}}{{Cite journal |last1=Goin |first1=Francisco J. |last2=Tejedor |first2=Marcelo F. |last3=Chornogubsky |first3=Laura |last4=López |first4=Guillermo M. |last5=Gelfo |first5=Javier N. |last6=Bond |first6=Mariano |last7=Woodburne |first7=Michael O. |last8=Gurovich |first8=Yamila |last9=Reguero |first9=Marcelo |date=2012-06-01 |title=Persistence of a Mesozoic, non-therian mammalian lineage (Gondwanatheria) in the mid-Paleogene of Patagonia |journal=Naturwissenschaften |language=en |volume=99 |issue=6 |pages=449–463 |doi=10.1007/s00114-012-0919-z |pmid=22584426 |bibcode=2012NW.....99..449G |s2cid=14077735 |issn=1432-1904}} The Eocene genus Groeberia and Miocene genus Patagonia, two mammals from South America with unusual tooth morphologies usually considered metatherians, were considered by one paper to be gondwanatheres. However, their conclusions have generally not been accepted.

Biology

Gondwanatheres known from cranial remains almost universally have deep, robust snouts, as befitting their specialised herbivorous lifestyle. Vintana possesses bizarre jugal flanges similar to those of xenarthrans like ground sloths, though they had a palinal (front-to-back) chewing method as in most allotheres and unlike almost any therian. Most gondwanatheres are specialised grazers, even being among the first mammals to have specialised for grass-eating long before any therians did, with the exceptions of Groeberidae and Ferugliotheriidae, which lack hypsodont teeth and therefore had more generalistic herbivorous habits.

An articulated specimen found in the Maevarano Formation offers insight to the postcranial skeleton of these animals. Among the bizarre and unique features are a mediolaterally compressed and antero-posteriorly bowed tibia, a double trochlea (grooved structure) on the talus bone, a fully developed humeral trochlea, and an unusually high number of trunk vertebrae. The new taxon has at least 19 rib-bearing (thoracic) and 11 non-rib-bearing (lumbar) vertebrae. Aside from these derived features, the Malagasy mammal has a mosaic pectoral girdle morphology: the procoracoid is lost, the coracoid is extremely well developed (into an enlarged process that contributes to half of the glenoid fossa), the interclavicle is small, and the sternoclavicular joint appears mobile. A ventrally-facing glenoid and the well-developed humeral trochlea suggest a relatively parasagittal posture for the forelimbs. Remarkable features of the hind limb and pelvic girdle include a large obturator foramen similar in size to that of therians, a large parafibula, and the presence of an epipubic bone.HOFFMANN, Simone, THE FIRST POSTCRANIAL REMAINS OF A GONDWANATHERIAN MAMMAL, October 2016{{vs|date=May 2020}}

The fully described animal, now named Adalatherium hui, is a comparatively large sized mammal, compared in size to a large cat. It has more erect limbs than other allotheres.

Taxonomy

Order †GondwanatheriaMikko's Phylogeny Archive [http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/] {{cite web |last=Haaramo |first=Mikko |year=2007 |title=†Gondwanatheria – gondwanatheres |url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/deuterostoma/chordata/synapsida/basal_mammalia/allotheria/gondwanatheria.html |access-date=30 December 2015}}Paleofile.com (net, info) {{cite web|url=http://www.paleofile.com/ |title=Paleofile.com |access-date=2015-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111195520/http://paleofile.com/ |archive-date=2016-01-11 }}. {{cite web|url=http://www.paleofile.com/Lists/Mammalia.asp |title=Taxonomic lists- Mammals |access-date=30 December 2015 }} McKenna 1971 [Gondwanatheroidea Krause & Bonaparte 1993]

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikispecies}}

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20021003215435/http://home.arcor.de/ktdykes/gondwanatheria.htm Mesozoic Mammals - Gondwanatheria]

{{Cynodontia|M.|state=autocollapse}}

{{Allotheria|A.|state=autocollapse}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q133234}}

Category:Burdigalian extinctions

Category:Taxa named by Álvaro Mones

Category:Maastrichtian first appearances