Teinolophos

Name: Teinolophos ‭(‬Extended ridge‭)‬.
Phonetic: Tie-na-low-fos.
Named By: Rich et al.‭ ‬-‭ ‬1999.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Monotremata,‭ ‬Platypoda,‭ ‬Steropodontidae.
Species: T.‭ ‬trusleri‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Insectivore.
Size: Estimated at around‭ ‬10‭ ‬centimetres long‭ (‬based upon comparison to similar mammals‭)‬.
Known locations: Australia,‭ ‬Victoria.
Time period: Aptian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial left dentary‭ (‬lower jaw bone‭)‬.

       At roughly the time when large predatory dinosaurs like Australovenator were roaming Australia,‭ ‬the mammals were eking out a living in‭ ‬the‭ ‬shadows.‭ ‬One of these,‭ ‬a tiny monotreme mammal‭ (‬the kind that still laid eggs‭) ‬was called Teinolophos and although only known from a partial jawbone,‭ ‬Teinolophos is considered to be one of if not the earliest relatives of the platypus.‭ ‬Reconstructions and size estimations of Teinolophos are usually based upon comparison to Steropodon,‭ ‬a related monotreme that possibly resembled a larger Teinolophos.‭ ‬However Steropodon itself is also only known from a jawbone and its reconstruction is more directly based upon the platypus.




Further reading
- The mandible and dentition of the Early Cretaceous monotreme Teinolophos trusleri. - Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. - Thomas H. Rich, James A. Hopson, Pamela G. Gill, Peter Trusler, Sally Rogers-Davidson, Steve Morton, Richard L. Cifelli, David Pickering, Lesley Kool, Karen Siu, Flame A. Burgmann, Tim Senden, Alistair R. Evans, Barbara E. Wagstaff, Doris Seegets-Villiers, Ian J. Corfe, Timothy F. Flannery, Ken Walker, Anne M. Musser, Michael Archer, Rebecca Pian & Patricia Vickers-Rich - 2016.


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