Adelobasileus
| Adelobasileus Temporal range: Late Carnian | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| (unranked): | Amniota |
| Class: | Synapsida |
| Order: | Therapsida |
| (unranked): | Mammaliamorpha |
| Genus: | Adelobasileus |
| Species: | A. cromptoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Adelobasileus cromptoni Lucas & Hunt 1990 | |
Adelobasileus cromptoni is a species of an extinct genus of mammal from the Late Triassic (Carnian), about 225 million years ago. It is known only from a partial skull recovered from the Tecovas formation in western Texas.
Roughly contemporary with the mammaliaform Tikitherium, Adelobasileus predates the non-mammalian cynodonts Tritylodontidae and Tritheledontidae by 10 million years. In fact, distinct cranial features, especially the housing of the cochlea, suggest that Adelobasileus is a transitional form in the character transformation from cynodonts to Triassic mammals. For this reason, it is thought to be the common ancestor of all modern mammals or a close relative of the common ancestor.
References
- Lucas, SG; Hunt, AP (1990). "The oldest mammal". New Mexico Journal of Science 30 (1): 41–49.
- Lucas, SG; Luo, Z (September 1993). "Adelobasileus from the upper Triassic of west Texas: the oldest mammal". J. Vert. Paleont 13 (3): 309–334. doi:10.1080/02724634.1993.10011512.