Herpetotherium
| Herpetotherium Temporal range: Early Eocene – Early Miocene | |
|---|---|
 | |
| H. huntii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Metatheria |
| Family: | Herpetotheriidae |
| Genus: | Herpetotherium Cope, 1873 |
| Type species | |
| H. fugax | |
| Species | |
|
H. fugax | |
Herpetotherium is an extinct genus of metatherian mammal.
Herpetotherium fugax
Restoration
Fossils have been found in California, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Saskatchewan.[1] The oldest species, H. knighti, is dated to around 50.3 mya,[2] and the most recent, an unnamed species, may be as recent as 15.97 mya.[1] A morphological analysis of marsupials and basal metatherians conducted in 2007 found Herpetotherium to be the sister group to extant marsupials.[3]
Species
- H. fugax (syn. Didelphys pygmaea, H. scalare, H. tricuspis, Peratherium fugax) (type)
- H. huntii
- H. knighti (syn. Centracodon delicatus, Entomacodon minutus, Peratherium morrisi)
- H. merriami
- H. valens (syn. Peratherium donahoei)
- H. youngi (syn. Peratherium spindleri)
References
- 1 2 "Taxonomic occurrences of Herpetotherium recorded in the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 5 December 2013.
- ↑ "Taxonomic occurrences of Herpetotherium knighti recorded in the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved 5 December 2013.
- ↑ Sánchez-Villagra, Marcelo; Ladevèze, Sandrine; Horovitz, Inés; Argot, Christine; Hooker, Jeremy J.; Macrini, Thomas E.; Martin, Thomas; Moore-Fay, Scott; de Muizon, Christian; Schmelzle, Thomas; Asher, Robert J. (2007). "Exceptionally preserved North American Paleogene metatherians: adaptations and discovery of a major gap in the opossum fossil record". Biology Letters. 3 (3): 318–322. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0090. PMC 2390683
. PMID 17426007.
External links
- 3D Digital skull of Herpetotherium fugax.
- Fossil Mammals at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
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