- Lambdopsalis
Taxobox
name = "Lambdopsalis"
fossil_range =Paleocene
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Mammal ia
ordo =Multituberculata
subordo =Cimolodonta
superfamilia =Taeniolabidoidea
genus = "Lambdopsalis"
species = "L. bulla"
binomial = "Lambdopsalis bulla"
binomial_authority = Chow & Qi,1978 "Lambdopsalis" is a genus of
mammal from thePaleocene ofChina . This animal was a relatively large member of the extinct orderMultituberculata . It is placed within the suborderCimolodonta and is a member of the superfamilyTaeniolabidoidea .The genus "Lambdopsalis" (Chow M & Qi T, 1978) is known by the species "Lambdopsalis bulla".
Fossil remains have been found in strata dating to the Upper Paleocene in Nao-mugen and Bayn Ulan of China.This genus of burrowing multituberculate mammals used to provide the earliest direct evidence of mammal fur. (This is out of date since May 2002. The new record holder,
Eomaia , comes from the LowerCretaceous .) Hair is highly unlikely to fossilize. There are indications that it first appeared on non-mammalian therapsids (Therapsida ), back in theTriassic or even earlier. This is inferred from small hollows on the bone of the snout, which may and probably did provide space for concentrations ofnerve s andblood vessel s. It’s a feature also known from cats. This adaptation allows cats to use their whiskers (specialized hairs) as effective sensory organs.However, some exceptional fossils from China do actually include mammal fur, some of which is from "Lambdopsalis". These are
coprolite s that contain the undigested leftovers excreted by carnivores.References
* Chow & Qi (1978), "Paleocene mammalian fossils from Nomogen Formation of Inner Mongolia." "Vertebrata PalAsiatica" 16(2), p.77-85.
* Kielan-Jaworowska Z. & Hurum J.H. (2001), "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals." "Paleontology" 44, p.389-429.
* Much of this information is derived from [http://home.arcor.de/ktdykes/taenio.htm] MESOZOIC MAMMALS; Eucosmodontidae, Microcosmodontidae and Taeniolabidoidea, an Internet directory.
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