Gobiconodon

Go-bee-con-don.
Published on

Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Gobiconodon ‭(‬Gobi cone tooth‭)‬.

Phonetic

Go-bee-con-don.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Gobiconodonta,‭ ‬Gobiconodontidae.

Diet

Carnivore/Insectivore.

Species

G.‭ ‬borissiaki‭

Size

About‭ ‬45-50‭ ‬centimetre long,‭ ‬depending upon the species.

Known locations

China,‭ ‬Mongolia,‭ ‬Russia and the USA.

Time Period

Hauterivian to Albian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Multiple individuals of various species.

In Depth

       Gobiconodon has been perceived to have been a possum-like animal,‭ ‬as well as one of the larger mammals alive during the‭ ‬Early‭ ‬Cretaceous.‭ ‬Although most fossils associated with Gobiconodon are known from Asia,‭ ‬some fossil remains are also known from the USA.‭ ‬Gobiconodon lived during the early Cretaceous and most species of are either Aptian or Albian in age,‭ ‬though G.‭ ‬zofiae from China is slightly earlier at being from the Hauterivian period.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬The first triconodonts‭ (‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Triconodonta‭) ‬from Mongolia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR‭ ‬243‭ (‬1‭)‬:‭ ‬213‭–‬216.‭ ‬-‭ ‬B.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Trofimov‭ ‬-‭ ‬1978. -‭ ‬The Early Cretaceous mammal Gobiconodon‭ (‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Triconodonta‭) ‬from the Cloverly Formation in Montana.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬8‭ (‬1‭)‬:‭ ‬1‭–‬24. -‭ ‬Early Cretaceous amphilestid‭ ‘‬triconodont‭’) ‬mammals from Mongolia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Acta Palaeontologica Polonica‭ ‬43‭ (‬3‭)‬:‭ ‬413‭–‬438.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Z.‭ ‬Kielan-Jaworowska‭ & ‬D.‭ ‬Dashzeveg‭ ‬-‭ ‬1998. -‭ ‬First record of an Early Cretaceous triconodont mammal in Siberia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Bulletin de l’Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belqique,‭ ‬Sciences de la Terre‭ ‬01/1998‭; ‬68:233‭–‬236.‭ ‬-‭ ‬E.‭ ‬N.‭ ‬Maschenko‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬V.‭ ‬Lopatin‭ ‬-‭ ‬1998. -‭ ‬Gobiconodonts from the Early Cretaceous of Oshih‭ (‬Ashile‭)‬,‭ ‬Mongolia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬American Museum Novitates‭ ‬3348:‭ ‬1‭–‬30.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Rougier,‭ ‬Novacek,‭ ‬McKenna‭ & ‬Wible‭ ‬-‭ ‬2001. -‭ ‬A new species of Gobiconodon (Triconodonta,‭ ‬Mammalia)and its implication for theage of Jehol Biota.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Chinese Science Bulletin‭ ‬48‭ (‬11‭)‬:‭ ‬1129‭–‬1134.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Li Chuankui,‭ ‬Wang Yuanqing,‭ ‬Hu Yaoming‭ & ‬Meng Jin‭ ‬-‭ ‬2003. -‭ ‬Diversity Early Cretaceous mammals from Bol’shoi Kemchug‭ ‬3‭ ‬locality in West Siberia,‭ ‬Russia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Russian Journal of Theriology‭ ‬4‭ (‬1‭)‬:‭ ‬1‭–‬12.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Alexander O.‭ ‬Averianov,‭ ‬Pavel P.‭ ‬Skutschas,‭ ‬Alexey V.‭ ‬Lopatin,‭ ‬Sergei V.‭ ‬Leshchinskiy,‭ ‬Anton S.‭ ‬Rezvyi‭ & ‬Alexey V.‭ ‬Fayngerts‭ ‬-‭ ‬2005. -‭ ‬A New Species of Gobiconodon‭ (‬Mammalia‭) ‬from Western Liaoning,‭ ‬China and its Implication for the Dental Formula of Gobiconodon.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Acta Geologica Sinica‭ ‬83‭ (‬2‭)‬:‭ ‬207‭–‬211.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Yuan Chongxi,‭ ‬Xu Li,‭ ‬Zhang Xingliao,‭ ‬Xi Yunhong,‭ ‬Wu Yanhua‭ & ‬Ji Qiang‭ ‬-‭ ‬2009. – Two new species of Gobiconodon (Mammalia, Eutriconodonta, Gobiconodontidae) from the Lower Cretaceous Shahai and Fuxin formations, northeastern China. – Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. 28 – Nao Kusuhashi, Yuan-Qing Wang, Chuan-Kui Li & Xun Jin – 2015.

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