Tag: docodonta

Haldanodon

The docodonts were a group of mammaliaformes (close relatives of the earliest true mammals) which lived across North America, Europe, and Asia from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. Originally only known from teeth and jaw fragments they were traditionally thought to be fairly generic shrew-like insectivores, but more recent discoveries of better fossils have revealed they were actually much more diverse, occupying ecological niches ranging from squirrel-like tree-climbers to mole-like diggers to beaver-otter-like swimmers.

Most of the more complete fossil material of these animals comes from the mid-Jurassic of China, but one species from elsewhere is also known from a partial skeleton.

Haldanodon exspectatus here lived in central Portugal during the Late Jurassic, about 155 million years ago. Around 15-20cm long (6-8″), it had small eyes and short chunky well-muscled limbs with the front paws adapted for digging. Since it inhabited a very swampy environment it probably wasn’t a pure mole-like burrower – extensive tunnels would have constantly flooded – but it may have instead been a similar sort of semi-aquatic animal to modern platypuses and desmans, foraging for invertebrates in the water and excavating burrows in the banks.

Roughened areas of bone on its snout may also have supported a patch of tough keratinous skin, which would have helped protect its face while digging.

Month of Mesozoic Mammals #07: Digging Down

Docofossor

The docodonts didn’t stop at exploiting ecological niches in the trees and water. Another branch of the group specialized into underground burrowing, developing convergent features remarkably similar to modern golden moles.

Docofossor is known from the Middle Jurassic of China (161-155 mya), and measured about 10cm long (4″). It had large shovel-like fingers, strong forelimbs, short sprawling hindlimbs, and pointed teeth adapted for capturing invertebrate prey. (I’ve also given it a patch of protective keratinized skin on its snout here, based on the related Haldanodon.)

It had a reduced number of bones in its fingers, a modification identical to some modern mammals – suggesting that these relatively “primitive” mammals were already using the exact same genes to regulate their anatomical development.

Month of Mesozoic Mammals #06: Going for a Swim

Castorocauda

While some docodonts like Agilodocodon were going up into the trees, another branch of the group was specializing into semi-aquatic habits instead.

Castorocauda is known from the Middle Jurassic of China (165-161 mya), represented by an exceptionally preserved fossil showing soft tissue and hair impressions. About 40cm long (1′4″), it would have lived in a wetland environment and was well-adapted for swimming, with a flattened scaly beaver-like tail, webbed toes, and a coat of dense fur very similar to that of modern mammals, made up of both guard hairs and underfur.

Its strong forelimbs suggest it was capable of digging burrows, like modern platypus, and its sharp backwards-pointing teeth indicate a diet of slippery prey such as fish and worms.

It was also one of the earliest known mammals with (possibly venomous) spurs on its ankles. This feature is only seen today in monotremes, but seems to have been an ancestral trait common to all early mammals that was later lost in the lineage leading to marsupials and placentals.

Month of Mesozoic Mammals #05: Climbing Trees

Agilodocodon

Before we get to the actual-Mammalia-mammals, there’s one more group of mammaliaformes who deserve some attention – the docodonts.

Falling evolutionarily just outside of Mammalia itself, docodonts first appeared in the mid-Jurassic and lasted until the Early Cretaceous. They used to only be known from teeth and jaw fragments and were thought to have been fairly generic shrew-like terrestrial insectivores, but more recent discoveries have shown them to have actually been some of the earliest mammals to specialize into diverse habitats.

Agilodocodon was adapted for climbing around in trees, making it one of the earliest known arboreal mammals (although not the first climbing synapsid). Living in China during the Middle Jurassic (165-161 mya), it measured about 13cm long (5″) and had sharp gripping claws and flexible wrists and ankles similar to modern climbing mammals like tree squirrels.

When it was first described in 2015 it was suggested that its spade-like front teeth were specialized for gnawing bark and feeding on tree sap – but a later study found that its teeth didn’t really resemble those of any modern sap-eating mammals, and in fact were closer in shape to those of insectivorous marsupials and elephant shrews.