Thomasia (mammal)

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Thomasia
Temporal range: Rhaetian-Hettangian
~206–189  Ma
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Haramiyida
Family: Haramiyidae
Genus: Thomasia
Poche, 1908
Type species
Thomasia antiqua
Pleininger, 1847
Species
  • T. antiquaPlieninger, 1847
  • T. hahniButler & Macintyre, 1994
  • T. moorei Owen, 1871
  • T. woutersiButler & Macintyre, 1994
Synonyms
  • HaramiyaSimpson, 1947
  • MicrocleptesSimpson, 1928
  • MicrolestesPlieninger, 1847
  • PleiningeriaKrausse, 1919

Thomasia is a mammaliform from the family Haramiyidae that is part of a lineage either unrelated to or a paraphyletic parent to multituberculates [1] from the Early Jurassic period.

Only Thomasia's teeth and skull have been found; judging from these it has been constructed as a 12 cm (5 in) creature with a resemblance to modern voles. It is presumed to have fed on the leaves of tree ferns, as it had broad cheek teeth for crushing tough vegetable food. [2] [3]

Distribution

Fossils of the genus have been found in: [4]

Triassic
Jurassic

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References

  1. http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/mammaliformes/mammaliformes.html#Haramiyida Palaeos on Haramiya
  2. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 199. ISBN   1-84028-152-9.
  3. Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, Richard L. Cifelli, and Zhe-Xi Luo, Mammals from the Age of Dinosaurs: Origins, Evolution, and Structure (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), 249–260.
  4. Thomasia at Fossilworks.org