Unnuakomys

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Unnuakomys
Temporal range: Maastrichtian 69  Ma
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Prince Creek Formation fauna.png
Unnuakomys (lower left, inside hollow trunk) being stalked by a dromaeosaur, alongside Pachyrhinosaurus
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Family: Pediomyidae
Genus: Unnuakomys
Eberle et al., 2019
Type species
Unnuakomys hutchisoni
Eberle et al., 2019

Unnuakomys is an extinct metatherian mammal from the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous. It was discovered in the Prince Creek Formation of Alaska, and is the northernmost metatherian known. [1]

Paleobiology

Weighing less than an ounce, Unnuakomys was about the size of a mouse. [2] It was likely an insectivore.

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References

  1. Eberle, Jaelyn J.; Clemens, William A.; McCarthy, Paul J.; Fiorillo, Anthony R.; Erickson, Gregory M.; Druckenmiller, Patrick S. (2019-02-14). "Northernmost record of the Metatheria: a new Late Cretaceous pediomyid from the North Slope of Alaska". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 17 (21): 1805–1824. doi:10.1080/14772019.2018.1560369. ISSN   1477-2019. S2CID   92613824.
  2. "Cretaceous Marsupial Lived Above Arctic Circle | Paleontology | Sci-News.com". Breaking Science News | Sci-News.com. Retrieved 2019-03-22.