PBDB Taxon

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Volaticotherium antiquus

Mammalia - Eutriconodonta - Triconodontidae

Taxonomy

Volaticotherium antiquus was named by Meng et al. (2006). Its type specimen is IVPP V14739, a skeleton (squashed skeleton preserved in the part and counterpart), and it is a compression fossil. Its type locality is Daohugou (IVPP collection), which is in a Callovian lacustrine - large shale/tuff in the Tiaojishan Formation of China. It is the type species of Volaticotherium.

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
2006	Volaticotherium antiquus Meng et al. p. 889 figs. Fig. 1, 3

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967

Rank	Name	Author
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
subclass	Synapsida
—	Therapsida	()
infraorder	Cynodontia	()
—	Mammaliamorpha
—	Mammaliaformes
class	Mammalia
order	Eutriconodonta	Kermack et al. 1973
family	Triconodontidae	Marsh 1887
subfamily	Alticonodontinae	Fox 1976
tribe	Volaticotherini	()
genus	Volaticotherium
species	antiquus

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

†Volaticotherium antiquus Meng et al. 2006

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Diagnosis

Reference	Diagnosis
J. Meng et al. 2006	A small squirrel-sized mammal that differs from all known Mesozoic mammals in having the following features: presence of a sizable furry patagium; elongated limb bones; femur with a small, ovoid-shaped head that lacks a neck; hallux diverging medially; proximal phalanges with pronounced flexor-sheath ridges; long tail with elongated and dorsoventrally flat caudal vertebrae and haemal arches; a highly differentiated dentition with a dental formula of I3-C1-P4-M3/I2-C1-P4-M2; incisors small and conical; canines long and sharp; molariforms with tall, sharp and posteriorly recumbent cusps that are aligned in line but are deeply separated; cusps of lower molariforms are more posteriorly recumbent and tightly packed than the uppers; cusp d of m1 labially overlapping cusp b of m2

Measurements

No measurements are available

Composition:

phosphaticsubp

Environment:

terrestrialc

Locomotion:

actively mobilec

Life habit:

volantg

Diet:

insectivoreuc

Created:

2009-01-04 11:26:53

Modified:

2009-01-04 13:26:53

Source: g = genus, c = class, subp = subphylum, uc = unranked clade

References: Meng et al. 2006, Hopson 1973, Carroll 1988, Luo et al. 2003, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range: Early/Lower Callovian or 165.30000 to 161.50000 Ma

Collections: one only

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Early/Lower Callovian	165.3 - 161.5	China (Nei Mongol)	Volaticotherium antiquus (type locality: 27891)