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http://hdl.handle.net/10362/151025| Title: | The last African metatherian |
| Author: | Crespo, Vicente D. Goin, Francisco J. Pickford, Martin |
| Keywords: | Africa Herpetotheriidae Metatheria Miocene Moroto II Uganda Palaeontology |
| Issue Date: | 3-Jun-2022 |
| Citation: | Crespo, V. D., Goin, F. J., & Pickford, M. (2022). The last African metatherian. Fossil Record, 25(1), 173-186. https://doi.org/10.3897/fr.25.80706 |
| Abstract: | Morotodon aenigmaticus gen. et sp. nov. (Mammalia, Metatheria, ?Herpetotheriidae) from the early or early-middle Miocene of equatorial Africa (Moroto II locality, Moroto District, northeastern Uganda) is characterized by a short anterior cingulum, a buccal shelf, a well-developed hypoconulid in a central position, and a trigonid and talonid with similar mesio-distal lengths. Its small size and morphology suggest mostly insectivorous-faunivorous feeding habits. The faunal association of Moroto II, as well as previous palaeoenvironmental analyses, suggest that Morotodon lived in open woodland and bushland areas surrounded by grasses. Morotodon aenigmaticus shows several features reminiscent of early herpetotheriids, such as Golerdelphys stocki (late Paleocene of North America), and Amphiperatherium ambiguum (Eocene of Europe); this suggests an origin for its lineage previous to the Oligocene. In summary, its affinities lie with Northern Hemisphere herpetotheriids, and, most probably, with European ones. |
| Description: | Funding Information: F.J.G. and V.D.C. thank Agencia (Foncyt, Mincyt; PICT 2019-03283) and CONICET (PIP KB2 - 11220200100150CO). Funding Information: We thank the Uganda Museum, Kampala (Rose Mwan-ja, Sarah Musalizi, Christopher Sebuyungo) for access to fossil material in its care, and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology for authorization to carry out research in the country. Pierre Mein measured the specimen from Moroto and made preliminary identifications. Hugo Salais (Metazoa Studio) for the 3D reconstruction, Agustín Ruella for a previous version of the 3D reconstruction, Marcela Tomeo for the realisation of Figs 1 and 3, and Juana Yañez for the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment. Francisco Javier Ruiz-Sánchez of University of València provided the use of the electron microscopy. Maria Dolores Marin-Monfort for the taphonomical comments. We should thank Frank Sénégas for making the casts (Sorbonne University). The fossils were collected by the Uganda Palaeontology Expedition led by B. Senut and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commission des Fouilles. We thank the villagers of Rupa for participating in the screening of the sediments which yielded the holotype of Morotodon aenigmaticus. The support of the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) toward this research for V. D. Crespo is hereby acknowledged. V.D.C. is the beneficiary of a grant (ZA21-044) for the requalification Publisher Copyright: Copyright Vicente D. |
| Peer review: | yes |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/10362/151025 |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.3897/fr.25.80706 |
| ISSN: | 2193-0066 |
| Appears in Collections: | FCT: DCT - Artigos em revista internacional com arbitragem científica |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The_last_African_metatherian.pdf | 2,23 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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