Dryolestidae

Dryolestidae is an extinct family of Mesozoic mammals, known from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous of the North Hemisphere. The oldest known member, Anthracolestes, is known from the Middle Jurassic Itat Formation of Western Siberia,^[2] but most other representatives are known from the Late Jurassic of North America and the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Europe.^[3][4] Most members are only known from isolated teeth and jaw fragments. Like many other groups of early mammals, they are thought to have been insectivores.^[5] They are generally classified in Cladotheria, meaning that they are considered to be more closely related to marsupials and placentals than to monotremes. They are placed as part of the broader Dryolestida, which also includes the (possibly paraphyletic) Paurodontidae, and also sometimes the South American-Antarctic Meridiolestida, which are often considered unrelated cladotherians.^[6] Dryolestidae taxon is not based on a phylogenetic definition, but instead on the possession of unequal roots for the molars of the lower jaw. Additionally, the clade is distinguished by hypsodonty in lower molars, and uneven labio-lingual height for the alveolar borders of the dentary.^[1]

Dryolestidae Temporal range: Middle Jurassic–Early Cretaceous PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Lower jaw of namesake species Dryolestes priscus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Dryolestida
Family:	†Dryolestidae Marsh, 1879
Genera[1]
†Portopinheirodon? †Kurtodontinae Osborn, 1888 †Achyrodon †Crusafontia †Phascolestes †Dryolestinae Marsh, 1879 †Amblotherium †Dryolestes †Guimarotodus †Krebsotherium †Laolestes

Cladogram

Dryolestida	Vincelestes Euthlastus Paurodon Drescheratherium Henkelotherium Tathiodon Groebertherium Dryolestidae Kurtodontinae Crusafontia Achyrodon Phascolestes (incl Kurtodon, Peraspalax) Dryolestinae Amblotherium gracile Amblotherium pusillum Krebsotherium Laolestes Dryolestes priscus Dryolestes leiriensis Guimarotodus

References

1. Averianov, A.O.; Martin, T.; Lopatin, A.V. (2013). "A new phylogeny for basal Trechnotheria and Cladotheria and affinities of South American endemic Late Cretaceous mammals". Naturwissenschaften. 100 (4): 311–326. doi:10.1007/s00114-013-1028-3. PMID 23494201. S2CID 91383652.
2. Averianov, Alexander O.; Martin, Thomas; Lopatin, Alexey (2014-06-07). "The oldest dryolestid mammal from the Middle Jurassic of Siberia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (4): 924–931. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.837471. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 85070390.
3. Martin, Thomas; Averianov, Alexander O.; Schultz, Julia A.; Schwermann, Achim H.; Wings, Oliver (2021-05-16). "A derived dryolestid mammal indicates possible insular endemism in the Late Jurassic of Germany". The Science of Nature. 108 (3): 23. doi:10.1007/s00114-021-01719-z. ISSN 1432-1904. PMC 8126546. PMID 33993371.
4. Martin, Thomas; Averianov, Alexander; Schultz, Julia; Schellhorn, Rico; Schwermann, Achim (2022). "First spalacotheriid and dryolestid mammals from the Cretaceous of Germany". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 67. doi:10.4202/app.00914.2021. ISSN 0567-7920. S2CID 247876132.
5. Morales-García, Nuria Melisa; Gill, Pamela G.; Janis, Christine M.; Rayfield, Emily J. (2021-02-23). "Jaw shape and mechanical advantage are indicative of diet in Mesozoic mammals". Communications Biology. 4 (1): 242. doi:10.1038/s42003-021-01757-3. ISSN 2399-3642. PMC 7902851. PMID 33623117.
6. Lasseron, Maxime; Martin, Thomas; Allain, Ronana; Haddoumi, Hamid; Jalil, Nour-Eddine; Zouhri, Samir; Gheerbrant, Emmanuel (2022). "An African Radiation of 'Dryolestoidea' (Donodontidae, Cladotheria) and its Significance for Mammalian Evolution" (PDF). Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 29 (4): 733–761. doi:10.1007/s10914-022-09613-9. S2CID 249324444.

• Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, Richard L. Cifelli, and Zhe-Xi Luo, Mammals from the Age of Dinosaurs: Origins, Evolution, and Structure (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), 380–382.