Abstract—
The maxillary fragment of eutriconodontan Gobiconodon borissiaki Trofimov, 1978 (Gobiconodontidae) is described from the Early Cretaceous Zuun-Höövör locality in Mongolia (Övörkhangai aimag, Guchin-Us sum). It demonstrates erupting М2RR (second molariform tooth of the third generation) along with the presence of the almost unworn M4R and alveoli of M3R and M5. This is the first direct evidence of the molariform tooth replacement in Gobiconodon from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia. The CT study of the specimen revealed the absence of mineralized germs of other teeth.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author thanks JRMPE members K.K. Tarasenko, K.Yu. Eskov, A.A. Lozovsky, S.A. Kharitonov (PIN), B. Bayarmaa, and S. Baasankhuu (Institute of Paleonto-logy, Mongolian Academy of Sciences) for participating in the collection of material at Zuun-Höövör in 2019, and S.V. Bagirov and R.A. Rakitov (PIN) for their help in preparing the illustrations.
Funding
This study was supported by a grant in the field of science in the form of subsidies from the federal budget to ensure the conduct of scientific research by Russian scientific organizations and/or educational institutions of higher education together with organizations of the CIS countries and Mongolia, as part of the implementation of the program of bilateral and multilateral scientific and technological cooperation (state contract no. 13.2251.21.0029, project “Higher Vertebrates of the Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic of Mongolia”).
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Lopatin, A.V. DIRECT EVIDENCE OF THE MOLARIFORM TOOTH REPLACEMENT IN Gobiconodon borissiaki (GOBICONODONTIDAE, MAMMALIA) FROM THE EARLY CRETACEOUS OF MONGOLIA. Dokl Biol Sci 504, 73–77 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0012496622030012
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0012496622030012