New Late Cretaceous zhelestid mammal from the Bayanshiree Formation, Mongolia

Numerous exquisitely preserved mammal fossils unearthed from Upper Cretaceous strata in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia have played a key role in understanding Mesozoic mammalian evolution. These splendid mammal fossils have been recovered mainly from the Baruungoyot and Djadokhta formations, but o...

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Main Authors: TSUKASA OKOSHI, RYUJI TAKASAKI, KENTARO CHIBA, MASAHITO NATORI, MOTOTAKA SANEYOSHI, AKIO TAKAHASHI, SHOTA KODAIRA, SHOJI HAYASHI, SHINOBU ISHIGAKI, BUUVEI MAINBAYAR, KHISHIGJAV TSOGTBAATAR
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Paleobiology PAS 2025-03-01
Series:Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
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Online Access:https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app70/app012132024.pdf
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author TSUKASA OKOSHI
RYUJI TAKASAKI
KENTARO CHIBA
MASAHITO NATORI
MOTOTAKA SANEYOSHI
AKIO TAKAHASHI
SHOTA KODAIRA
SHOJI HAYASHI
SHINOBU ISHIGAKI
BUUVEI MAINBAYAR
KHISHIGJAV TSOGTBAATAR
author_facet TSUKASA OKOSHI
RYUJI TAKASAKI
KENTARO CHIBA
MASAHITO NATORI
MOTOTAKA SANEYOSHI
AKIO TAKAHASHI
SHOTA KODAIRA
SHOJI HAYASHI
SHINOBU ISHIGAKI
BUUVEI MAINBAYAR
KHISHIGJAV TSOGTBAATAR
author_sort TSUKASA OKOSHI
collection DOAJ
description Numerous exquisitely preserved mammal fossils unearthed from Upper Cretaceous strata in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia have played a key role in understanding Mesozoic mammalian evolution. These splendid mammal fossils have been recovered mainly from the Baruungoyot and Djadokhta formations, but only two fragmentary remains of mammals have been collected from the underlying Bayanshiree Formation. Here we report a new species of Zhelestidae, Ravjaa ishiii gen. et sp. nov., based on a new mammal specimen recently discovered from the Bayanshiree Formation at the Bayan Shiree locality. The new specimen is represented by a well-preserved partial right dentary with the distal portion of an ultimate premolar and the first to the third molars. The gross observation and the phylogenetic analyses demonstrate zhelestid affinities: the subequally tall protoconid and metaconid, closely approximated hypoconulid and entoconid. Zhelestidae was widely distributed from Eurasia to North America in the Late Cretaceous but has not previously been recovered in the abundant Late Cretaceous mammalian fauna of Mongolia. This species represents the first zhelestid from the Mongolian Upper Cretaceous strata and contributes to further understanding of their paleobiogeographic and ecological insights.
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issn 1732-2421
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publishDate 2025-03-01
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series Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
spelling doaj-art-b1619decb56544ee8241aa09bd60d9e52025-08-20T01:48:16ZengInstitute of Paleobiology PASActa Palaeontologica Polonica1732-24212025-03-01701 19320310.4202/app.01213.2024New Late Cretaceous zhelestid mammal from the Bayanshiree Formation, MongoliaTSUKASA OKOSHI0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4884-315XRYUJI TAKASAKIKENTARO CHIBAMASAHITO NATORIMOTOTAKA SANEYOSHIAKIO TAKAHASHISHOTA KODAIRASHOJI HAYASHISHINOBU ISHIGAKIBUUVEI MAINBAYARKHISHIGJAV TSOGTBAATARGraduate School of Science and Engineering, Okayama University of Science, Okayama, Japan. Numerous exquisitely preserved mammal fossils unearthed from Upper Cretaceous strata in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia have played a key role in understanding Mesozoic mammalian evolution. These splendid mammal fossils have been recovered mainly from the Baruungoyot and Djadokhta formations, but only two fragmentary remains of mammals have been collected from the underlying Bayanshiree Formation. Here we report a new species of Zhelestidae, Ravjaa ishiii gen. et sp. nov., based on a new mammal specimen recently discovered from the Bayanshiree Formation at the Bayan Shiree locality. The new specimen is represented by a well-preserved partial right dentary with the distal portion of an ultimate premolar and the first to the third molars. The gross observation and the phylogenetic analyses demonstrate zhelestid affinities: the subequally tall protoconid and metaconid, closely approximated hypoconulid and entoconid. Zhelestidae was widely distributed from Eurasia to North America in the Late Cretaceous but has not previously been recovered in the abundant Late Cretaceous mammalian fauna of Mongolia. This species represents the first zhelestid from the Mongolian Upper Cretaceous strata and contributes to further understanding of their paleobiogeographic and ecological insights.https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app70/app012132024.pdfmammaliaeutheriacretaceousbayanshiree formationmongolia
spellingShingle TSUKASA OKOSHI
RYUJI TAKASAKI
KENTARO CHIBA
MASAHITO NATORI
MOTOTAKA SANEYOSHI
AKIO TAKAHASHI
SHOTA KODAIRA
SHOJI HAYASHI
SHINOBU ISHIGAKI
BUUVEI MAINBAYAR
KHISHIGJAV TSOGTBAATAR
New Late Cretaceous zhelestid mammal from the Bayanshiree Formation, Mongolia
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
mammalia
eutheria
cretaceous
bayanshiree formation
mongolia
title New Late Cretaceous zhelestid mammal from the Bayanshiree Formation, Mongolia
title_full New Late Cretaceous zhelestid mammal from the Bayanshiree Formation, Mongolia
title_fullStr New Late Cretaceous zhelestid mammal from the Bayanshiree Formation, Mongolia
title_full_unstemmed New Late Cretaceous zhelestid mammal from the Bayanshiree Formation, Mongolia
title_short New Late Cretaceous zhelestid mammal from the Bayanshiree Formation, Mongolia
title_sort new late cretaceous zhelestid mammal from the bayanshiree formation mongolia
topic mammalia
eutheria
cretaceous
bayanshiree formation
mongolia
url https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app70/app012132024.pdf
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