Zalambdalestes

<i>Zalambdalestes</i>

Zalambdalestes

Genus of shrew-like mammal from the Upper Cretaceous period

Zalambdalestes (meaning much-like-lambda robber) is an extinct genus of eutherian mammal known from the Upper Cretaceous in Mongolia.

Life restoration of Z. lechei

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Species ...

Zalambdalestes was a hopping animal with a long snout, long teeth, a small brain and large eyes. It was about 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long, with a head only 5 centimetres (2 in) long. It had strong front paws and even stronger rear ones, sharing specializations to saltation similar to those of modern rabbits.[1][2] It was most likely not a placental due to the presence of an epipubic bone,[3][1]

Its diet was probably composed mainly of insects that it hunted in the forest undergrowth using its sharp, interlocking teeth.[4] Unlike modern placental mammals, Zalambdalestes had an epipubic bone, meaning it was probably restricted reproductively in the same way as modern monotremes and marsupials.[1]

Life reconstruction of Z. lechei

References

  • Parker, Steve. Dinosaurs: the complete guide to dinosaurs. Firefly Books Inc, 2003. Pg. 402
  1. [1]
    Rose, Kenneth D.; Archibald, J. David, eds. (2005). The Rise of Placental Mammals: Origins and Relationships of the Major Extant Clades. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801880223.
  2. [2]
    Chen, Meng; Wilson, Gregory P. (2015). "A multivariate approach to infer locomotor modes in Mesozoic mammals". Paleobiology. 41 (2): 280–312. Bibcode:2015Pbio...41..280C. doi:10.1017/pab.2014.14. S2CID 86087687.
  3. [3]
    Dykes, Kevin T. "Mesozoic Mammals; Zalambdalestidae, Lipotyphla?, Cimolestidae and Cretaceous Taeniodonta". Mesozoic Eucynodonts. Archived from the original on March 4, 2006.
  4. [4]
    Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 201. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

Further reading


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