Abstract
A third species of tribosphenic mammal is now known from Australia. Owing to the fragmentary nature of the two specimens on which this new, diminutive species is based, its affinities within the tribosphenic Mammalia are uncertain. When better known, they could well prove to belong to the Ausktribosphenidae. In estimated body mass, 2 g, the new species is amongst the smallest mammals known.
Keywords
- Australia
- Cretaceous
- Ausktribosphenidae
- Batodonoides
- Samson effect
*Deceased
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(Art by Peter Trusler)
(Art by Peter Trusler)
(Art by Peter Trusler)
(Photography by Steve Morton)
(Art by Peter Trusler)
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, the volunteers who participated in the field work at the Flat Rocks site are thanked for their hard work necessary to make the discoveries. Valuable comments were made on the manuscript by William A. Clemens, Thomas Martin, Wendy White, Mary Walters, and an anonymous reviewer. The Committee for Research and Exploration of the National Geographic Society and the Australian Research Council provided much of the funding needed for the fieldwork carried out at the Flat Rocks locality over two decades. Permits to carry out the excavations in the Bunurong Marine Park were issued by Parks Victoria . Travel to Japan was funded by the International Synchrotron Access Programme of the Australian Government, managed by the Australian Synchrotron. Synchrotron Proposal no. 2011A1122 was performed with the approval of the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute. Assistance with the preparation of Tables 3.1 and 3.2 was provided by Sally Rogers-Davidson.
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Rich, T.H. et al. (2020). A Third, Remarkably Small, Tribosphenic Mammal from the Mesozoic of Australia. In: Prasad, G.V., Patnaik, R. (eds) Biological Consequences of Plate Tectonics. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49753-8_3
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