Biology:Microdocodon
| Microdocodon Temporal range: Jurassic
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | Cynodontia |
| Clade: | Mammaliaformes |
| Order: | †Docodonta |
| Family: | †Tegotheriidae |
| Genus: | †Microdocodon Zhou et al., 2019 |
| Species: | †M. gracilis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Microdocodon gracilis Zhou et al., 2019
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Microdocodon is a genus of docodontian primitive mammaliaform ancestor from the Jurassic. It contains a single species, Microdocodon gracilis.
Anatomy
The species is notable for providing insight into the evolution of the ability to chew and suckle in early relatives of mammals, by preserving a nearly intact hyoid that is important in mammals to such motions. The complexity of the structure suggests that chewing and suckle evolved before mammals proper did, in the mammiliforms, but after the split with cynodonts. This means the primary feature that marks crown mammals apart from nonmammals like mammilforms is the evolution of the middle ear disconnecting from the mandible in crown mammals.[1]
The species would is thought to have been a small, shrew-like tree dwelling insectivore, weighing about 9 grams. Microdocodon lived at the same time as semiaquatic Castorocauda, the subterranean mammaliform Docofossor, and Agilodocodon which was also arboreal.
See also
- List of synapsids
References
- ↑ Zhou, Chang-Fu; Bhullar, Bhart-Anjan; Neander, April; Martin, Thomas; Luo, Zhe-Xi (19 Jul 2019). "New Jurassic mammaliaform sheds light on early evolution of mammal-like hyoid bones". Science 365 (6450): 276–279. doi:10.1126/science.aau9345. PMID 31320539. Bibcode: 2019Sci...365..276Z.
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