First cranial remains of a gondwanatherian mammal reveal remarkable mosaicism

David W. Krause (), Simone Hoffmann, John R. Wible, E. Christopher Kirk, Julia A. Schultz, Wighart von Koenigswald, Joseph R. Groenke, James B. Rossie, Patrick M. O’Connor, Erik R. Seiffert, Elizabeth R. Dumont, Waymon L. Holloway, Raymond R. Rogers, Lydia J. Rahantarisoa, Addison D. Kemp and Haingoson Andriamialison
Additional contact information
David W. Krause: Stony Brook University
Simone Hoffmann: Stony Brook University
John R. Wible: Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 5800 Baum Boulevard, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206, USA
E. Christopher Kirk: University of Texas at Austin
Julia A. Schultz: Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie der Universität Bonn, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
Wighart von Koenigswald: Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie der Universität Bonn, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
Joseph R. Groenke: Stony Brook University
James B. Rossie: Stony Brook University
Patrick M. O’Connor: Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University
Erik R. Seiffert: Stony Brook University
Elizabeth R. Dumont: 221 Morrill Science Center, University of Massachusetts
Waymon L. Holloway: Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University
Raymond R. Rogers: Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue, St Paul, Minnesota 55105, USA
Lydia J. Rahantarisoa: Université d’Antananarivo, Antananarivo (101), Madagascar
Addison D. Kemp: University of Texas at Austin
Haingoson Andriamialison: Université d’Antananarivo, Antananarivo (101), Madagascar

Nature, 2014, vol. 515, issue 7528, 512-517

Abstract: Abstract Previously known only from isolated teeth and lower jaw fragments recovered from the Cretaceous and Palaeogene of the Southern Hemisphere, the Gondwanatheria constitute the most poorly known of all major mammaliaform radiations. Here we report the discovery of the first skull material of a gondwanatherian, a complete and well-preserved cranium from Upper Cretaceous strata in Madagascar that we assign to a new genus and species. Phylogenetic analysis strongly supports its placement within Gondwanatheria, which are recognized as monophyletic and closely related to multituberculates, an evolutionarily successful clade of Mesozoic mammals known almost exclusively from the Northern Hemisphere. The new taxon is the largest known mammaliaform from the Mesozoic of Gondwana. Its craniofacial anatomy reveals that it was herbivorous, large-eyed and agile, with well-developed high-frequency hearing and a keen sense of smell. The cranium exhibits a mosaic of primitive and derived features, the disparity of which is extreme and probably reflective of a long evolutionary history in geographic isolation.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/nature13922

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