The Eutherian Mammal Maelestes gobiensis from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia and the phylogeny of cretaceous eutheria

Wible, John R.; Rougier, Guillermo W.; Novacek, Michael J.; Asher, Robert J.

doi:10.1206/623.1

Cited by 191 publications

(590 citation statements)

References 139 publications

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“…Palaeontological studies typically place the origin and early diversification of Placentalia at, or at most slightly before, the Cretaceous-Palaeogene (K-Pg) boundary at 66 Ma [2,[6][7][8]. This conclusion is based on the age of oldest known definitive placentals, all of which are Palaeocene or younger [1,2,[6][7][8]. This palaeontological evidence is the basis for the 'explosive' model of placental origins [9], which proposes that Placentalia diversified from a single lineage in the aftermath of the K-Pg mass extinction event [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Obviously, the discovery of a single unequivocal placental fossil prior to the K-Pg boundary would overturn the strict 'explosive' model. However, despite intensive collecting and enormous improvements in our knowledge of Mesozoic mammals in recent years [11][12][13], definitive pre-Palaeocene placentals have still not been identified [2,7,8,14]; a few putative Mesozoic records of placentals have been reported, but they are from the latest Cretaceous [15,16], and they remain controversial [2,16,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ancient dates or accelerated rates? Morphological clocks and the antiquity of placental mammals

2014

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Analyses of a comprehensive morphological character matrix of mammals using 'relaxed' clock models (which simultaneously estimate topology, divergence dates and evolutionary rates), either alone or in combination with an 8.5 kb nuclear sequence dataset, retrieve implausibly ancient, Late JurassicEarly Cretaceous estimates for the initial diversification of Placentalia (crown-group Eutheria). These dates are much older than all recent molecular and palaeontological estimates. They are recovered using two very different clock models, and regardless of whether the tree topology is freely estimated or constrained using scaffolds to match the current consensus placental phylogeny. This raises the possibility that divergence dates have been overestimated in previous analyses that have applied such clock models to morphological and total evidence datasets. Enforcing additional age constraints on selected internal divergences results in only a slight reduction of the age of Placentalia. Constraining Placentalia to less than 93.8 Ma, congruent with recent molecular estimates, does not require major changes in morphological or molecular evolutionary rates. Even constraining Placentalia to less than 66 Ma to match the 'explosive' palaeontological model results in only a 10-to 20-fold increase in maximum evolutionary rate for morphology, and fivefold for molecules. The large discrepancies between clock-and fossil-based estimates for divergence dates might therefore be attributable to relatively small changes in evolutionary rates through time, although other explanations (such as overly simplistic models of morphological evolution) need to be investigated. Conversely, dates inferred using relaxed clock models (especially with discrete morphological data and MRBAYES) should be treated cautiously, as relatively minor deviations in rate patterns can generate large effects on estimated divergence dates.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient dates or accelerated rates? Morphological clocks and the antiquity of placental mammals

2014

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“…Lower incisors, canines, premolars and molars are abbreviated by lower case i, c, p and m, respectively, followed by numbers indicating the order of each tooth in each tooth class. For the phylogenetic relationships of eutherians, we basically follow those of Luo et al [3] modified from Wible et al [10,18]. Holoclemensia is treated as a eutherian following Davis & Cifelli [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new Early Cretaceous eutherian mammal from the Sasayama Group, Hyogo, Japan

et al. 2013

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We here describe a new Early Cretaceous (early Albian) eutherian mammal, Sasayamamylos kawaii gen. et sp. nov., from the 'Lower Formation' of the Sasayama Group, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Sasayamamylos kawaii is characterized by a robust dentary, a distinct angle on the ventral margin of the dentary at the posterior end of the mandibular symphysis, a lower dental formula of 3 -4 : 1 : 4 : 3, a robust lower canine, a non-molariform lower ultimate premolar, and a secondarily reduced entoconid on the molars. To date, S. kawaii is the earliest known eutherian mammal possessing only four premolars, which demonstrates that the reduction in the premolar count in eutherians started in the late Early Cretaceous. The occurrence of S. kawaii implies that the relatively rapid diversification of eutherians in the mid-Cretaceous had already started by the early Albian.

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“…1d), and is 1.2 mm high and 0.91 mm wide, resulting in a very low stapedial ratio of 1.32. The fenestra cochleae is hidden inside a small cochlear fossula; the external aperture of the cochlear fossula (see Wible et al 2009) is elliptical, but very small and facing laterally (Figs. 1d, 2b).…”

Section: Leptictidium Auderiensementioning

confidence: 99%

“…They have been described as stem Placentalia or alternatively are allied to certain crown Placentalia such as Afrotheria, Lipotyphla, Primates, Tupaiidae, and even Lagomorpha (e.g., Leidy 1868;Matthew 1909;Gregory 1910;Simpson 1945;McKenna 1966McKenna , 1975Szalay 1966Szalay , 1977Butler 1972Butler , 1988Novacek 1986;MacPhee and Novacek 1993;Asher 1999;Asher et al 2002Asher et al , 2003Rose 2006a;Wible et al 2007Wible et al , 2009. Recently, a comprehensive study based on morphological data from fossil and extant mammals combined with molecular sequences suggests a sister-group relationship of Leptictida and Macroscelidea, with both nested within Afrotheria (O'Leary et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital reconstruction of the inner ear of Leptictidium auderiense (Leptictida, Mammalia) and North American leptictids reveals new insight into leptictidan locomotor agility

et al. 2016

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The Eutherian Mammal Maelestes gobiensis from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia and the phylogeny of cretaceous eutheria

Cited by 191 publications

References 139 publications

Ancient dates or accelerated rates? Morphological clocks and the antiquity of placental mammals

Ancient dates or accelerated rates? Morphological clocks and the antiquity of placental mammals

A new Early Cretaceous eutherian mammal from the Sasayama Group, Hyogo, Japan

Digital reconstruction of the inner ear of Leptictidium auderiense (Leptictida, Mammalia) and North American leptictids reveals new insight into leptictidan locomotor agility

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