Deltatheridium
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Deltatheridium Temporal range: Late Cretaceous | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Infraclass: | Metatheria |
Order: | †Deltatheroida |
Family: | †Deltatheridiidae |
Genus: | †Deltatheridium Gregory & Simpson, 1926 |
Species | |
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Deltatheridium (meaning triangle beast or delta beast) is an extinct species of metatherian. It lived in what is now Mongolia during the Upper Cretaceous, circa 80 million years ago.[1] It was a basal metatherian, which places it near start of the linage that led to the marsupials, such the kangaroo, koala, and opossum.
It had a length of 15 cm (5.9 in). Its teeth indicate it was carnivorous.
References
- Parker, Steve. Dinosaurus: the complete guide to dinosaurs. Firefly Books Inc, 2003. Pg. 403
- Rougier, G. W.; Wible, J. R.; Novacek, M. J. (1998). "Implications of Deltatheridium specimens for early marsupial history". Nature 396 (6710): 459. doi:10.1038/24856. PMID 9853752.
Other Mesozoic mammals from Mongolia
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