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Implications of Deltatheridium specimens for early marsupial history

Nature volume 396, pages 459–463 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

We describe here two new specimens of the mammal Deltatheridium pretrituberculare from the Late Cretaceous period of Mongolia. These specimens provide information on tooth replacement in basal therian mammals and on lower jaw and basicranial morphology. Deltatheroidans, known previously from isolated teeth, partial rostra and jaws from the late Cretaceous of Asia1,2,3,4 and possibly North America5,6, have been identified variously as eutherians1,7,8, as basal metatherians (the stem-based clade formed by marsupials and their extinct relatives)3,9,10,11, or as an outgroup to both eutherians and metatherians2,12,13,14,15. Resolution of these conflicting hypotheses and understanding of the early evolution of the therian lineage have been hampered by a sparse fossil record for basal therians. The new evidence supports metatherian affinities for deltatheroidans and allows a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of basal metatherians and marsupials. The presence of specialized marsupial patterns of tooth replacement and cranial vascularization in Deltatheridium and the basal phylogenetic position of this taxon indicate that these features are characteristic of Metatheria as a whole. Other morphological transformations recognized here secure the previously elusive diagnosis of Metatheria3,14,15. The new specimens of Deltatheridium illustrate the effectiveness of fairly complete fossil specimens in determining the nature of early evolutionary events.

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Figure 1: Deltatheridium pretrituberculare specimen PSS-MAE 133, with palate in occlusal view and mandible in oblique dorsal view.
Figure 2: Deltatheridium pretrituberculare PSS-MAE 133, with rostrum in dorsal view and mandible in oblique ventral view.
Figure 3: Stereophotograph of the petrosals of Deltatheridium pretrituberculare specimen PSS-MAE 132.
Figure 4: The right lower jaw of Deltatheridium pretrituberculare PSS-MAE 132.
Figure 5: Simplified cladogram based on the consensus tree of 144 equally most parsimonious trees.

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. Davidson for preparation of the fossils; L. Meeker, C. Tarka and E. Heck for illustrations; and J. Hopson, I. Horvitz, M. McKenna, C. de Muizon and M. Norell for comments on the paper. This work was supported by the NSF, the Jaffe Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the Eppley Foundation, the Mercedes-Benz Corporation, the James Carter Memorial Fund and the Frick Laboratory Endowment of the American Museum of Natural History.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, 40292, Kentucky, USA

    Guillermo W. Rougier & John R. Wible

  2. Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, 10024, New York, USA

    Guillermo W. Rougier & Michael J. Novacek

  3. Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, 15206, Pennsylvania, USA

    John R. Wible

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Correspondence to Guillermo W. Rougier.

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Rougier, G., Wible, J. & Novacek, M. Implications of Deltatheridium specimens for early marsupial history. Nature 396, 459–463 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/24856

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