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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