Deltatheridium

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Deltatheridium
Temporal range: Santonian-Campanian
~84.9–70.6 Ma
Deltatheridium praetrituberculare.JPG
Deltatheridium praetrituberculare
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Deltatheroida
Family: †Deltatheridiidae
Genus: †Deltatheridium
Gregory & Simpson, 1926
Species
  • D. pretrituberculare (type)
  • D. nessovi

Deltatheridium (meaning triangle beast or delta beast) is an extinct species of metatherian. It lived in what is now Mongolia during the Upper Cretaceous, circa 80 million years ago.[1] It was a basal metatherian, which places it near to the start of the lineage that led to the marsupials, such as kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, and opossums.

It had a length of about 15 cm (5.9 in). Its teeth indicate it was carnivorous. One specimen of Archaeornithoides might attest an attack by this mammal, the skull bearing tooth marks that match its teeth.[2]

Other Mesozoic mammals from Mongolia[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Discovery Of New Fossils In Gobi Desert Of Mongolia Provides Important Insight Into Early Mammal Evolution". Sciencedaily.com. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  2. ^ Elżanowski, A. Wellnhoffer, P. (1993). "Skull of Archaeornithoides From the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia". earth.geology.yale.edu/~ajs/1993/11.1993.08Elzanowski.pdf . American Journal of Science

Further reading[]

  • Parker, Steve. Dinosaurus: the complete guide to dinosaurs. Firefly Books Inc, 2003. Pg. 403
  • Rougier, G. W.; Wible, J. R.; Novacek, M. J. (1998). "Implications of Deltatheridium specimens for early marsupial history". Nature. 396 (6710): 459–63. Bibcode:1998Natur.396..459R. doi:10.1038/24856. PMID 9853752. S2CID 204996216.


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