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Origin and Early Evolution of Mammals

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Abstract

Modern views on the origin and early evolution of mammals are presented. The paper uses material accumulated by the author on the morphology of modern and fossil monotremes. Data on Mesozoic mammals, including those obtained over the past decade, are summarized. A model of morphogenetic transformations during the evolutionary development of representatives of the class Mammalia is proposed. A review of the main stages in the development of mammals from the Late Triassic to the Cenozoic is given.

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Notes

  1. Hereinafter, macrophagy is understood as a type of carnivory in which the size of the hunting object (prey) is close to that of the carnivore (predator) itself. Mesophagy is carnivory, in which the weight of the hunting object (prey) is only one order of magnitude lower than the predator. Microphagy is a type of carnivory in which the hunting objects are two to three orders of magnitude smaller than the predator. These three adaptive types of mammals differ not only in the size of the pursued prey and hunting tactics and strategy, but also in the structure of the jaw apparatus, teeth, and locomotor organs.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author thanks N.G. Smirnova and I.V. Novikov for valuable comments.

Funding

This study was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, grant no. 20-29-01011.

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  1. Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117647, Moscow, Russia

    A. K. Agadzhanyan

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  1. A. K. Agadzhanyan
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Translated by D. Zabolotny

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Agadzhanyan, A.K. Origin and Early Evolution of Mammals. Paleontol. J. 56, 1274–1305 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030122110028

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