Introduction to Adalatherium hui (Gondwanatheria, Mammalia) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar
Introduction to Adalatherium hui (Gondwanatheria, Mammalia) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar
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DOI：
10.1080/02724634.2020.1805455
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发表时间：
2020-12
影响因子：
1.4
通讯作者：
D. Krause;J. Groenke;S. Hoffmann;R. Rogers;Lydia J. Rahantarisoa
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
D. Krause;J. Groenke;S. Hoffmann;R. Rogers;Lydia J. Rahantarisoa
摘要 Adalatherium hui 是一种最新的白垩纪（马斯特里赫特阶）冈瓦纳兽哺乳动物，仅基于一个标本，一个几乎完整的、有关节的、保存完好的头骨和颅后骨骼。该标本是冈瓦纳超大陆南部中生代所有哺乳动物中最完整、保存最完好的。它是在马达加斯加西北部马哈赞加盆地 Maevarano 组的 Anembalemba 层中发现的。正模标本包括唯一完整的下颌和唯一已知的冈瓦纳动物颅后遗骸，除了文塔纳塞蒂奇的颅骨（也来自马达加斯加的白垩纪晚期）之外，仅以孤立的牙齿和碎片齿骨为代表。尽管 A. hui 个体尚未成熟，但它是冈瓦纳古陆中生代最大的哺乳动物（基于身体化石），仅次于 V. sertichi 和 Coloniatherium cilinskii。在这里，我们（1）回顾了冈瓦纳中生代相对于劳亚大陆记录的哺乳动物头骨和颅后骨骼材料的匮乏； (2) 回族古生物学系统综述； (3) 概述正模标本的发现历史； (4) 详细说明正模的保存情况、其制备历史以及用于研究它的成像技术； (5) 概述了 A. hui 的地质背景，这表明该物种生活在接近白垩纪末灭绝事件的高度季节性、半干旱气候中； (6) 在其他中生代哺乳动物的背景下估计 A. hui 的体重。
ABSTRACT Adalatherium hui is a latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) gondwanatherian mammal based on only a single specimen, a virtually complete, articulated, and well-preserved skull and postcranial skeleton. The specimen is the most complete and best preserved of any mammaliaform from the Mesozoic of the southern supercontinent Gondwana. It was discovered in the Anembalemba Member of the Maevarano Formation in the Mahajanga Basin of northwestern Madagascar. The holotype specimen includes the only complete lower jaw and the only postcranial remains known for Gondwanatheria, which, other than the cranium of Vintana sertichi (also from the latest Cretaceous of Madagascar), are represented only by isolated teeth and fragmentary dentaries. Despite being represented by an immature individual, A. hui is third only to V. sertichi and Coloniatherium cilinskii as the largest Mesozoic mammaliaform (based on body fossils) from Gondwana. Here, we (1) review the paucity of mammaliamorph skull and postcranial skeletal material from the Mesozoic of Gondwana relative to the record from Laurasia; (2) review the systematic paleontology of A. hui; (3) provide an overview of the history of discovery of the holotype specimen; (4) detail the preservation of the holotype, its preparation history, and the imaging techniques used to study it; (5) provide an overview of the geological context of A. hui, which indicates that the species lived close to the end-Cretaceous extinction event in a highly seasonal, semiarid climate; and (6) estimate the body mass of A. hui in the context of other Mesozoic mammaliaforms.