Scalaridelphys Temporal range:
Late Cretaceous,
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | † Pediomyoidea |
Family: | † Aquiladelphidae |
Genus: | †
Scalaridelphys Cohen, Davis & Cifelli, 2021 |
Species | |
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Synonyms | |
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Scalaridelphys (meaning "womb that resembles stairs" – in reference to the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument and the fact that it was related to extant marsupials) is an extinct genus of aquiladelphid pediomyoid mammal from the Late Cretaceous ( Turonian)–aged Straight Cliffs Formation of Utah. [1] Initially named as Scalaria in 2020, [1] the genus name was changed to Scalaridelphys in 2021 [2] when the authors were told by B. Creisler that the name Scalaria was already in use for a now obsolete genus of gastropod named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1801. [3] Two species of Scalaridelphys are known: the type species S. martini and S. aquilana. [1]