Adalatherium (Adàla, 'crazy' in Malagasy and therium, 'beast' in Greek) is an extinct gondwanatherian that lived on Madagascar during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous.[1] The discovery of the first nearly-complete Adalatherium skeleton from the Maevarano Formation was announced in April 2020.
| Adalatherium Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)
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| Restoration of the skull in lateral view | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Clade: | †Gondwanatheria |
| Family: | †Adalatheriidae Krause et al, 2020 |
| Genus: | †Adalatherium Krause et al, 2020 |
| Species: | †A. hui
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| Binomial name | |
| †Adalatherium hui Krause et al, 2020
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Description
editAlthough known fossil is estimated to be subadult individual, it had large skull reaching length 8.4 centimetres (3.3 in), body length about 52 centimetres (20 in)[2] and body mass is estimated between 1.775–5.218 kilograms (3.91–11.50 lb), making it one the largest known Mesozoic mammals only exceeded by fellow Malagasy gondwanathere Vintana, Repenomamus and Patagomaia.[1] It is depicted in reconstructions as being built somewhat like a badger. Its skeleton is the most complete of any Southern Hemisphere Mesozoic mammal. Additionally, the front of the skull contains more foramina than any known mammal except Vincelestes.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b Krause, David W.; Hoffmann, Simone; Hu, Yaoming; Wible, John R.; Rougier, Guillermo W.; Kirk, E. Christopher; Groenke, Joseph R.; Rogers, Raymond R.; Rossie, James B.; Schultz, Julia A.; Evans, Alistair R. (2020-04-29). "Skeleton of a Cretaceous mammal from Madagascar reflects long-term insularity". Nature. 581 (7809): 421–427. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2234-8. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 32461642. S2CID 216650606.
- ^ "Madagascar's prehistoric 'crazy beast' sheds light on mammalian evolution". India Today. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ^ Krause, David W.; Hoffmann, Simone; Rossie, James B.; Hu, Yaoming; Wible, John R.; Rougier, Guillermo W.; Kirk, E. Christopher; Groenke, Joseph R. (2020-12-14). "Craniofacial morphology of Adalatherium hui (Mammalia, Gondwanatheria) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (sup1): 19–66. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1808665. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 230968119.
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