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]
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abAverianov, 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.
PMID23494201.
S2CID91383652.
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.