Asiatheriidae
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Coniacian-Campanian) 89.3–70.6 Ma
Ventral view of the skull of Asiatherium reshetovi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Clade: Metatheria
Clade: Marsupialiformes
Order: †Asiadelphia
Family: †Asiatheriidae
Trofimov and Szalay, 1994
Genera

Asiatheriidae is a family of extinct metatherians in the order Asiadelphia known from Cretaceous Asia.[1] Different from the Ameridelphia, they lacked a prominent distolateral process on the scaphoid bone and possessed a more slender fibula. Their dentition is different from most other marsupials.[2]

Taxonomy and history

The groupings Asiatheriidae and Asiadelphia were first proposed in 1994 with the description of Asiatherium reshetovi based on a skeletal specimen from Mongolia.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Trofimov, Boris A.; Szalay, Frederick S. (1994). "New Cretaceous marsupial from Mongolia and the early radiation of Metatheria". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 91 (26). National Academy of Sciences: 12569–12573. doi:10.1073/pnas.91.26.12569. PMC 45480.
  2. ^ Kielan-Jaworowska, Zofia; Cifelli, Richard L.; Luo, Zhe-Xi (2004). Mammals from the Age of Dinosaurs: Origins, Evolution, and Structure. Columbia University Press. pp. 451–452. ISBN 9780231119184. OCLC 61160163.
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