Khuduklestes Temporal range:
Late Cretaceous,
| |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Family: | incertae sedis |
Genus: | †
Khuduklestes Sigogneau-Russell et al., 1994 |
Type species | |
†Khuduklestes bohlini Sigogneau-Russell et al., 1994
|
Khuduklestes is a genus of extinct mammal of uncertain affinities from the Late Cretaceous of China. It is rather similar to the also carnivorous and taxonomically uncertain Oxlestes, being slightly smaller. [1]
Khuduklestes is currently represented by a single specimen, a vertebral axis, known from Cenomanian deposits in the Gansu Province of China. It is rather similar to Oxlestes and is among the largest vertebral mammalian remains from the Mesozoic, indicating a cat-sized animal.
Khuduklestes was initially placed in Deltatheroida on the basis of its similarity to Oxlestes. However, much as Oxlestes, its identity as a deltatheroidean has also been questioned, and it has periodically also been considered a member of the eutherian clade of mammals. [2]