Deccanolestes

Deccanolestes Temporal range: Maastrichtian PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Eutheria
Genus:	Deccanolestes Prasad & Sahni, 1988
Species
D. hislopi Prasad & Sahni, 1988 (type) D. robustusPrasad, Jaeger, Sahni, Gheerbrandt & Khajuria, 1994

Deccanolestes is a scansorial, basal Euarchontan from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Intertrappean Beds of Andhra Pradesh, India. It may be closely related to Sahnitherium. Deccanolestes has been referred to Palaeoryctidae in the past, but recent evidence has shown the it is either the most basal Euarchontan,^[1] as the earliest known Adapisoriculid,^[2] or as a stem-afrotherian.^[3]

Deccanolestes hislopi is based on an isolated first upper molar (VPL/JU/NKIM/10). A third molar, a lower third premolar, various other isolated teeth, and some postcranial remains have been referred to it.

Deccanolestes robustus is based on an isolated lower first molar. Isolated teeth and some ankle remains have also been referred to it.

Deccanolestes was the first Indian Cretaceous mammal to be named.

References

1. Boyer, Doug M.; Prasad, Guntupalli V. R.; Krause, David W.; Godinot, Marc; Goswami, Anjali; Verma, Omkar; Flynn, John J. (2010). "New postcrania of Deccanolestes from the Late Cretaceous of India and their bearing on the evolutionary and biogeographic history of euarchontan mammals". Naturwissenschaften 97 (4): 365–77. doi:10.1007/s00114-010-0648-0. PMID 20130827.
2. Smith, Thierry; Bast, Eric; Sigé, Bernard (2010). "Euarchontan affinity of Paleocene Afro-European adapisoriculid mammals and their origin in the late Cretaceous Deccan Traps of India". Naturwissenschaften 97 (4): 417–22. doi:10.1007/s00114-010-0651-5. PMID 20174778.
3. Erik R. Seiffert, The Oldest and Youngest Records of Afrosoricid Placentals from the Fayum Depression of Northern Egypt

External links