Early Cretaceous Vincelestes now nests with Early Eocene Callistoe
Argot & Babot described Callistoe
(Figs 1, 2) in 2011 with “very long and slightly curved claws, quite different from those of other sparassodonts ; their shape suggesting an ability to dig. The slender outer toes of the quite short feet indicates an aptitude for running. Callistoe lived alongside a large variety of armadillos and small notoungulates, all animals with fossorial habits, and it is possible that the animal covered large distances and was able to enter the burrows of these animals. As it lived during the Early Eocene, it may be one of the first examples of a predatory mammal with fossorial habits, millions of years before the rise of the first burrowing mustelidae on other continents.”
Vincelestes was not mentioned in the text, but now nests with Callistoe in the LRT.
Figure 1. Above: Early Cretaceous Vincelelestes to scale with Early Eocene Callistoe in situ.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/callistoe.insitu588.jpg?w=248″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/callistoe.insitu588.jpg?w=584″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” class=”size-full wp-image-87509″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/callistoe.insitu588.jpg” alt=”Figure 1. Above: Early Cretaceous Vincelelestes to scale with Early Eocene Callistoe in situ. ” width=”584″ height=”706″ />
Figure 1. Above: Early Cretaceous Vincelelestes to scale with Early Eocene Callistoe in situ.
According to Wikipedia – Callistoe
“Unlike most of its relatives, Callistoe had a narrow, puny snout, and the shape of its skull resembled that of a thylacine. Callistoe lacked the characteristics associated with the ability to climb in its limbs and vertebrae. The shape of its limb joints, the presence of an ossified patella and the shape of the limb bones show that it was limited to a parasagittal gait, and possessed little flexibility in its elbows, wrists, knees and ankles ; Callistoe probably specialized in walking and running. Callistoe, approximately two meters long, had a slender and light body, and weighed approximately 23 kilograms.”
Figure 2. Callistoe and Hyaenodon skulls. Colors added here.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/callistoe.skull588.jpg?w=290″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/callistoe.skull588.jpg?w=584″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” class=”size-full wp-image-87511″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/callistoe.skull588.jpg” alt=”Figure 2. Callistoe and Hyaenodon skulls. Colors added here. ” width=”584″ height=”604″ />
Figure 2. Callistoe and Hyaenodon skulls. Colors added here. Note the 4 premaxillary incisors are all “distinctly crowded” according to Babot et al 2002.
According to Wikipedia – Vinceletes,
“Although not the direct ancestor of therians, Vincelestes is important because it gives an idea of what the ancestor of both placental and marsupial mammals might have looked like, and also gives an indication of when these mammals may have originated.”
That traditional hypothesis is not recovered by the large reptile tree (LRT) in which
placentals arose from tiny (phylogenetically miniaturized) opossums without a pouch in the genus Monodelphis after about ten nodes prior to the Middle Jurassic.
Figure 2. Vincelestes drawing compared to Digimorph.org image. Colors applied here.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/vincelestes-drawing588-1.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/vincelestes-drawing588-1.jpg?w=584″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” class=”size-full wp-image-87533″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/vincelestes-drawing588-1.jpg” alt=”Figure 2. Vincelestes drawing compared to Digimorph.org image. Colors applied here.” width=”584″ height=”387″ />
Figure 2. Vincelestes drawing compared to Digimorph.org image. Colors applied here.
The manus of Callistoe
(Fig 4) was generalized with plenty of flexibility and gripping ability based on the continuous PILs. Diggers tend to have discontinuous PILs turning their hands into less flexible paddles = scoopers… but digging predators have to go from tunnel to tunnel for their prey. So flexibility for travel and digging is optimal.
Figure 4. Callistoe manus in situ. Colors and PILs added here. Continuous PILs indicate a plantigrade manus.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/callistoe_manus588-1.gif?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/callistoe_manus588-1.gif?w=584″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” class=”size-full wp-image-87522″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/callistoe_manus588-1.gif” alt=”Figure 4. Callistoe manus in situ. Colors and PILs added here. Continuous PILs indicate a plantigrade manus.” width=”584″ height=”572″ />
Figure 4. Callistoe manus in situ. Colors and PILs added here. Continuous PILs indicate a plantigrade manus. Note the original sticking of two unguals on digit 4 repaired here.
The pes of Callistoe
(Fig 5) was likely digitigrade based on the discontinuous PILs in the plantigrade configuration AND the reduced digits 1 and 5, as in ungulates.
Figure 4. Callistoe pes. Colors and PILs added here. Proximal PILs are discontinuous, indicating a probable digitigrade pes.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/callistoe-pes588.gif?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/callistoe-pes588.gif?w=584″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” class=”size-full wp-image-87514″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/callistoe-pes588.gif” alt=”Figure 4. Callistoe pes. Colors and PILs added here. Proximal PILs are discontinuous, indicating a probable digitigrade pes.” width=”584″ height=”539″ />
Figure 4. Callistoe pes. Colors and PILs added here. Proximal PILs are discontinuous, indicating a probable digitigrade pes.
Callistoe vincei
(Babot et al. 2002; Argot and Babot 2011; Early Eocene, 35mya; PVL 4187. The axial skeleton of Callistoe is characterized by the peculiar transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae emphasizing lateral instead of sagittal traction. The pollex (= thumb) is not reduced and the ungual phalanges indicate very long claws, similar to those observed in some extant digging taxa. The pes is smaller than the manus. This is common in diggers. Pedal digits 1 and 5 are more slender. Callistoe was the largest mammalian predator of its time.
References
Argot C and Babot J 2011. Postcranial morphology, functional adaptations and palaeobiology of Callistoe vincei, a predaceous metatherian from the Eocene of Salta, North-Western Argentina. Palaeontology 54(2):447–480.
Babot MJ, Powell JE and Muizon C 2002. Callistoe vincei, a new Proborhyaenidae (Borhyaenoidea, Metatheria, Mammalia) from the Early Eocene of Argentina. Geobios 35:615-629.
wiki/Callistoe
wiki/Vincelestes
Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2024/07/15/early-cretaceous-vincelestes-now-nests-with-early-eocene-callistoe/
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