Andinodelphys is an extinct genus of non-marsupial stem metatherian.[1]
Details
Along with Pucadelphys and Mayulestes, it is the oldest known South American metatherian.[2] It is known best from five almost complete skulls, and associated skeletons, all from Tiupampa in Bolivia.[1] It is most similar to Pucadelphys and a clade of Pucadelphydae containing the two genera has been suggested. It was likely a gregarious animal, and a finding of six articulated and intertmingled skeletons has been used as evidence of social behavior being present in basal metatherians.[3]
References
- ^ a b de Muizon, Christian; Ladevèze, Sandrine (31 December 2020). "Cranial anatomy of Andinodelphys cochabambensis, a stem metatherian from the early Palaeocene of Bolivia". Geodiversitas. 42 (30): 597–739. doi:10.5252/geodiversitas2020v42a30.
- ^ Ladeveze, Sandrine; De Muizon, Christian (2007). ""The auditory region of early Paleocene Pucadelphydae (Mammalia, Metatheria) from Tiupampa, Bolivia, with phylogenetic implications". Palaeontology. 50 (5): 1123–1153. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2007.00703.x.
- ^ Ladeveze, Sandrine; de Muizon, Christian; Beck, Robin M. D; Germain, Damien; Cespedes-Paz, Ricardo (2 June 2011). ""Earliest evidence of mammalian social behaviour in the basal Tertiary of Bolivia". Nature. 474 (7349): 83–86. doi:10.1038/nature09987.
