| Dryolestida Temporal range: Jurassic-Tertiary Bathonian–Paleocene |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| (unranked): | Holotheria |
| Subclass: | Theriiformes |
| (unranked): | Trechnotheria |
| Superorder: | Dryolestoidea |
| Order: | †Dryolestida Prothero, 1981 |
| Families & Genera | |
Dryolestida is an extinct order of mammals known from the Jurassic to Tertiary. It has been suggested that these mammals are either the possible ancestors of therian mammals or an offshoot from the same evolutionary line. It is also believed that they developed a fully mammalian jaw and also had the three middle ear bones. Other than that, not much is known about them, this is because their fossils are made up mostly of jaw and tooth remains.
The Dryolestids were formerly considered part of Pantotheria and/or Eupantotheria. The clade Quirogatheria, erected by José Bonaparte in 1992, is often used as a synonym for Dryolestida. Originally, Quirogatheria was meant to include Brandoniidae, but this family is now included with the Dryolestids.
Contents |
Classification modified after Rougier & Gaetano, 2011.[1]
Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, Richard L. Cifelli, and Zhe-Xi Luo, Mammals from the Age of Dinosaurs: Origins, Evolution, and Structure (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), 14, 379-393.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Prehistoric World page 344.