Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
8-2023
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Department
Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology
Degree Program
Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, MS
Committee Chair
Rougier, Guillermo W.
Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)
Davis, Brian M.
Committee Member
Davis, Brian M.
Committee Member
Hoffmann, Simone
Committee Member
Santaella, Gustavo
Author's Keywords
mammalian evolution; comparative morphology; dryolestoids; Mesozoic mammals; Patagonia; Argentina
Abstract
Dryolestoids are extinct cladotherians mammals from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. I describe a collection of dryolestoid specimens from the Late Cretaceous localities of Cerro Tortuga (Allen Formation), Anfiteatro 1, and Shining (both La Colonia Formation) from Patagonia, Argentina. Using comparative morphology, I identify a new species of meridiolestidan dryolestoid based on eleven specimens across both formations. The new species’ recovery from La Colonia Formation represents the first dryolestoid connection between the two approximately contemporaneous formations. The species’ morphology may represent an ecological shift within Meridiolestida from insectivory to herbivory, showing a transition in characters between the plesiomorphic sharp-toothed meridiolestidans and the more derived and bunodont mesungulatoids. Other specimens from Allen Formation are referred to previously described taxa, namely Mesungulatum and Groebertherium. New material fills in unknown positions in meridiolestid dentitions and suggests that genus Groebertherium—previously regarded as a dryolestid taxon—is in fact closer to Meridiolestida.
Recommended Citation
Connelly, Brigid Erin, "New species of dryolestoid from the late cretaceous allen formation and implications for South American faunal diversity." (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4156.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/4156
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