Repenomamus

Repenomamus (Latin: "reptile" (reptilis), "mammal" (mammalis)) is a genus of opossum- to badger-sized gobiconodontid mammal containing two species, Repenomamus robustus and Repenomamus giganticus. Both species are known from fossils found in China that date to the early Cretaceous period, about 125-123.2 million years ago. R. robustus is one of several Mesozoic mammals for which there is good evidence that it fed on vertebrates, including dinosaurs. Though it is not entirely clear whether or not these animals primarily hunted live dinosaurs or scavenged dead ones, evidence for the former is present in fossilized remains showcasing the results of what was most likely a predation attempt by R. robustus directed at a specimen of the dinosaur Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis. R. giganticus is among the largest mammals known from the Mesozoic era, only surpassed by Patagomaia.

Repenomamus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
Type of R. giganticus, Paleozoological Museum of China
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Clade: Eutriconodonta (?)
Family: Gobiconodontidae
Genus: Repenomamus
Li et al., 2000
Type species
Repenomamus robustus
Li et al., 2001
Species

Repenomamus robustus Li et al., 2000
Repenomamus giganticus Hu et al., 2005

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.