Title
Gobiconodonts from the early Cretaceous of Oshih (Ashile), Mongolia
Title Variants
Alternative:
Early Cretaceous Gobiconodonts
Related Titles
Series:
American Museum novitates, no. 3348
By
Rougier, Guillermo W.
Novacek, Michael J.
McKenna, Malcolm C.
Wible, John R.
Mongolian-American Museum Paleontological Project.
Mongolyn ShinzhlÄ—kh Ukhaany Akademi.
Type
Book
Material
Published material
Publication info
New York, NY American Museum of Natural History c2001
Notes
Caption title.
"October 31, 2001."
Specimens collected during the 1997 and 1999 Mongolian Academy of Sciences-American Museum of Natural History expeditions.
We describe here the first discovered mammalian remains from the Mongolian early Cretaceous locality Oshih (Ashile). Four fragmentary, tooth-bearing specimens, probably corresponding to three individuals, have been recovered. All the fossils can be assigned to the family Gobiconodontidae (Chow and Rich, 1984). The specimens include three lower jaw fragments and one upper jaw fragment, and represent at least two different taxa. Gobiconodon hopsoni, n. sp., is described and diagnosed here. This new species is larger than G. ostromi (early Cretaceous Cloverly Formation, USA); thus, it is the largest triconodont and one of the largest Mesozoic mammals known. Gobiconodon sp., found also at Oshih, is slightly larger than G. borissiaki, from the early Cretaceous of Khoobur, Mongolia, but smaller than G. ostromi. The specimens of this second species are poorly preserved and provide insufficient data for a diagnosis. The status of the different species of Gobiconodon and the new gobiconodontid Hangjinia is reviewed. In gobiconodontids and Triconodontidae, the maxillae appear to make a significant contribution to the orbital rim, a condition unusual among basal mammals, in which the lacrimal and jugal are the main components. Other triconodonts such as Jeholodens, likely an "amphilestid", appear to show the primitive mammalian condition for this feature. We present a brief consideration of triconodont relationships and discuss alternative placements of Gobiconodon among Mammaliaformes.
Subjects
Cretaceous
,
Gobiconodontidae
,
Mammals, Fossil
,
Mongolia
,
Paleontology
Call Number
QL1 .A436 no.3348 2001
Language
English
Identifiers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0082(2001)348<0001:GFTECO>2.0.CO;2
OCLC:
48470520
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