Hondadelphys
| Hondadelphys Temporal range: Mid-Miocene 13–12Ma | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Metatheria |
| Order: | Sparassodonta |
| Family: | Hondadelphidae Marshall et al. 1990 |
| Genus: | Hondadelphys Marshall, 1976 |
| Type species | |
| Hondadelphys fieldsi Marshall, 1976 | |
Hondadelphys fieldsi is an extinct carnivorous sparassodont, known from the mid-Miocene of Colombia. H. fieldsi, was described in 1976 from the La Venta fossil deposit, part of the Villavieja Formation[1] Hondadelphys was originally interpreted as belonging to the opossum family Didelphidae, but subsequently assigned to its own family, Hondadelphidae and interpreted as a basal sparassodont.[2] The genus name refers to the town of Honda, Tolima, combined with delphys (Greek for "possum")
References
- ↑ Marshall, Larry G. (1976). "New Didelphine Marsupials from the La Venta Fauna (Miocene) of Colombia, South America". Journal of Paleontology 50 (3): 402–418. doi:10.2307/1303521. JSTOR 1303521.
- ↑ Goin, Francisco (2003). "Early Marsupial Radiations in South America". In Jones, Menna; Archer, Mike; Dickman, Chris. Predators with Pouches : The Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials. Collingwood (Victoria): CSIRO. ISBN 0643066349.