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New gliding mammaliaforms from the Jurassic.

Qing-Jin Meng1, David M Grossnickle2, Di Liu1

  • 1Beijing Museum of Natural History, Beijing 100050, China.

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Two new gliding mammaliaforms discovered from the Late Jurassic period show early adaptations for arboreal life. These stem mammals exhibit unique skeletal features for gliding and roosting, offering insights into early mammalian evolution.

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Area of Science:

  • Paleontology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Vertebrate Zoology

Background:

  • Stem mammaliaforms represent crucial early ancestors of mammals during the Mesozoic era.
  • Their study provides vital evidence for the anatomical evolution and ecological diversification in early mammalian history.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe two new volant (gliding) eleutherodont taxa from the Late Jurassic.
  • To analyze their skeletal and skin membrane features related to gliding and roosting behaviors.
  • To determine their phylogenetic position within mammaliaforms and compare their adaptations to extant gliding mammals.

Main Methods:

  • Fossil excavation and analysis of skeletal morphology.
  • Comparative anatomical studies with extant and extinct gliding vertebrates.
  • Phylogenetic analysis to ascertain evolutionary relationships.

Main Results:

  • Two new eleutherodont species with adaptations for gliding, including skin membranes and specialized digits for roosting, were identified.
  • These taxa possess a calcaneal calcar for uropatagium support, similar to bats.
  • Phylogenetic analysis places these volant forms within arboreal eleutherodonts, indicating convergent evolution of gliding.

Conclusions:

  • Gliding eleutherodonts demonstrate evolutionary experimentation in locomotion, paralleling iterative glider evolution in marsupials and placentals.
  • Unique rigid interclavicle-clavicle structures in these fossils are convergent with avian furcula.
  • Their shoulder girdle mobility for gliding differs from, yet converges with, that of modern gliding marsupials and placentals.