Trechnotheria
| Trechnotherians Temporal range: Late Triassic - Holocene, 216.5–0Ma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Kangaroo with her joey | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Clade: | Holotheria |
| Superlegion: | Trechnotheria |
| Subgroups | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Theriiformes Rowe, 1988 | |
Trechnotheria is a group of mammals that includes the therians and some fossil mammals from the Mesozoic Era. In the Jurassic through Cretaceous periods, the group was endemic to what would be Asia and Africa[1]
Trechnotheria has been assigned various ranks, but was originally called a "superlegion" by the original author.[2] One reference has defined the Trechnotheria as the clade comprising the last common ancestor of Zhangheotherium and living therian mammals, and all its descendants.[3]
Characteristics
Like most Mesozoic mammal groups, early trechnotherians are known mainly from their teeth. Hence, one of most prominent features of this group is the "hypertrophied postvallum/prevallid shearing mechanism", along with other dental characters. Features of the shoulder blade, tibia, humerus, and ankle joint also diagnose this clade.[4]
Sources
- ↑ PaleoBiology Database: Trechnotheria, basic info "Trechnotheria - Mammalia". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
- ↑ McKenna, Malcolm C., & Bell, Susan K. (2000). Classification of Mammals above the Species Level. University of Chicago Press. p. 43.
- ↑ Kielan-Jaworowska, Zofia; Cifelli, Richard; & Luo Zhe-Xi. Mammals from the age of dinosaurs: origins, evolution, and structure. Columbia University Press. p. 366. ISBN 978-0-231-11918-4.
- ↑ Luo, Z.−X., Kielan−Jaworowska, Z., and Cifelli, R.L. (2002). "In quest for a phylogeny of Mesozoic mammals". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 47 (1): 1–78.