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Henkelotherium

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Henkelotherium
Temporal range: Late Jurassic, Kimmeridgian
Skeleton
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Dryolestida
Genus: Henkelotherium
Krebs, 1991
Species:
H. guimarotae
Binomial name
Henkelotherium guimarotae
Krebs, 1991

Henkelotherium is an extinct genus of dryolestidan mammal from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Camadas de Guimarota, in Portugal.[1] Unlike many other Jurassic mammals, it is known from a largely complete skeleton, and is thought to have had an arboreal lifestyle.

Description

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The skull of Henkelotherium is 4 cm (1.6 in) long, and presacral body length is 11 cm (4.3 in). This suggest a weight of about 20 g (0.71 oz).[2]

Paleobiology

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Primitive characters of Henkelotherium (e.g. asymmetric condyles of the femur) indicate that this species had a mode of locomotion similar to tree shrews and opossums. The small size of Henkelotherium and elongated tail made it suited to an arboreal lifestyle and capable of climbing trees, a notion supported by the paleoecological reconstruction of the Guimarota ecosystem indicating a densely vegetated environment.[3][4]

Taxonomy

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In cladistic analyses, Henkelotherium has been considered closely related to Dryolestidae, either as a part of that group, or as closely related but placed outside that family as a non-dryolestid dryolestidan.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Krebs B., 1991. Das Skelett von Henkelotherium guimarotae gen. et sp. nov. (Eupantotheria, Mammalia) aus dem Oberen Jura von Portugal. Berl Geowiss Abh A.: 133:1–110.
  2. ^ T. S. Kemp (2005). The Origin and Evolution of Mammals. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 183. ISBN 9780198507611. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  3. ^ Vázquez-Molinero, R., Martin, T., Fischer, M. S. and Frey, R. (2001), Comparative anatomical investigations of the postcranial skeleton of Henkelotherium guimarotae Krebs, 1991 (Eupantotheria, Mammalia) and their implications for its locomotion. Zool. Reihe, 77: 207–216. doi: 10.1002/mmnz.20010770206
  4. ^ Jäger, K. R. K.; Luo, Z.-X.; Martin, T. (2020-09-01). "Postcranial Skeleton of Henkelotherium guimarotae (Cladotheria, Mammalia) and Locomotor Adaptation". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 27 (3): 349–372. doi:10.1007/s10914-018-09457-2. ISSN 1573-7055. S2CID 254689452.
  5. ^ Lasseron, Maxime; Martin, Thomas; Allain, Ronan; Haddoumi, Hamid; Jalil, Nour-Eddine; Zouhri, Samir; Gheerbrant, Emmanuel (2022-06-02). "An African Radiation of 'Dryolestoidea' (Donodontidae, Cladotheria) and its Significance for Mammalian Evolution". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 29 (4): 733–761. doi:10.1007/s10914-022-09613-9. ISSN 1064-7554. S2CID 249324444.

Further reading

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  • Ramón Vázquez Molinero: Comparative anatomy of Henkelotherium guimarotae (Holotheria), a late Jurassic small mammal, and its relevance for the evolution of the mode of locomotion of modern mammals. Dissertation. Freie Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, 2003. Dissertation Online

http://www.diss.fu-berlin.de/diss/receive/FUDISS_thesis_000000001206