Gondtherium

Gondtherium is a genus of extinct mammaliaform from the Kota Formation in India. It was considered a docodontan mammal by those who described it, but it remains unclear if this is the case.

Gondtherium
Temporal range: 167.3–127.2 Ma
Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Order:
Therapsida
Suborder:
†Docodonta[disputed]
Family:
†Docodontidae [disputed]
Genus:
†Gondtherium

Prasad and Manhas, 2007[1]
Binomial name
†Gondtherium dattai
Prasad and Manhas, 2007[1]

Gondtherium was found in the Kota Formation, which is considered to be between Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous in age.[1] Other Mesozoic mammals found there include members of Morganucodonta and Amphilestidae. The authors who described Gondtherium - which is known from only a single worn and fragmentary molar tooth - considered it to be a docodontan mammal based on the tooth cusps.[1] However, this has been disputed by several subsequent researchers, and so the exact identity of Gondtherium remains unresolved.[2]

References
  1. Prasad GVR, and Manhas BK. 2007. A new docodont mammal from the Jurassic Kota Formation of India. Palaeontologia electronica, 10.2: 1-11
  2. Kielan-Jaworowska Z, Cifelli RL, and Luo, Z-X. 2004. Mammals from the age of dinosaurs: origins evolution and structure. Columbia University Press, New York, NY, 630 pp
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.