Akidolestes
Name:
Akidolestes
(Pointed thief).
Phonetic: Ah-ke-do-les-teez.
Named By: G. Li & Z.-X. Luo - 2006.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia,
Symmetrodonta, Spalacotheriidae.
Species: A. cifellii (type).
Diet: Insectivore.
Size: About 10 centimeteres long for the body,
2 centimetres for the skull.
Known locations: China, Liaoning Province -
Yixian Formation.
Time period: Barremian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete individual.
Akidolestes
displays a number of features which are seen in monotreme mammals,
including a similar pubis and the presence of cervical ribs.
However, other observations of the holotype specimen mean that there
is no doubt that Akidolestes was a spalacotheriid
mammal. The
monotreme-like features are probably convergent features or traits from
an ancestral form shared with monotremes.
The
genus name Akidolestes means ‘pointed thief’
and this is a
reference to the long snout that Akidolestes is
known to have had.
The type species name is in honour of Richard Cifelli and in
recognition to his contributions in the field of mammal palaeontology.
Further reading
- A Cretaceous symmetrodont therian with some monotreme-like
postcranial features, G. Li & Z.-X. Luo - 2006.
- Postcranial Skeleton of the Cretaceous Mammal Akidolestes
cifellii
and Its Locomotor Adaptations. - Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 20
(3): 159–189. - Meng Chen & Zhe-Xi Luo - 2012.
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