Tetraclaenodon moves to the Marsupialia in the LRT
Some taxa are so plesiomorphic
they prove difficult to nest with confidence. Palaeocene Tetraclaenodon (Fig 1) is one such taxon. Today it nests in the large reptile tree (LRT, 2330 taxa) derived from Early Cretaceous Eomaia and Early Cretaceous Cokotherium (Fig 1), only post-asteroid and larger.
Figure 1. Tetraclaenodon compared to several related taxa near the base of several clade radiations.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tetraclaenodon_eomaia.skull588-1.jpg?w=84″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tetraclaenodon_eomaia.skull588-1.jpg?w=286″ class=”size-full wp-image-90922″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tetraclaenodon_eomaia.skull588-1.jpg” alt=”Figure 1. Tetraclaenodon compared to several related taxa near the base of several clade radiations.” width=”584″ height=”2090″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tetraclaenodon_eomaia.skull588-1.jpg?w=584&h=2090 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tetraclaenodon_eomaia.skull588-1.jpg?w=42&h=150 42w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tetraclaenodon_eomaia.skull588-1.jpg?w=84&h=300 84w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tetraclaenodon_eomaia.skull588-1.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 1. Tetraclaenodon compared to several related taxa near the base of several clade radiations.
According to Wikipedia – Tetraclaenodon,
“Tetraclaenodon was a genus of small and early ungulate mammals that was part of the Phenacodontidae family.[3] It is the oldest and most primitive phenacodontid. Its fossils known from the Nacimiento Formation, New Mexico. In 2012, Tetraclaenodon was defined as the basalmost member of the clade containing “Phenacodontidae” and Altungulata.”
The LRT does not confirm that definition. Altungulata is considered invalid by other authors and both are placental clades. Tetraclaenodon was a marsupial in the LRT.
Tetraclaenodon puercensis
(Cope 1881, Scott 1892; Paleocene) was originally considered a member of the Phenacodontidae. Kondroshev and Lucas wrote, “The ungual phalanx is intermediate in morphology between a claw-like and a hoof-like phalanx”. Here Tetraclaenodon nests as a late survivor of an earlier radiation basal to a long line of marsupials like Caluromys.”
A little too phylogenetically primitive for ungulates, if Tetraclaenodon had semi-hooves, it had them by convergence. It was a marsupial.
References
Cope ED 1881. On some Mammalia from the lowest Eocene beds of New Mexico. Proceedings of the American Philosophic Society 19:484–495.
Kondrashov P and Lucas SP 2012. Nearly Complete Skeleton of Tetraclaenodon (Mammalia, Phenacodontidae) from the Early Paleocene of New Mexico: Morpho-Functional Analysis. Journal of Paleontology. 86(1): 25–43.
Scott WD 1892. A revision of North American Creodonta with notes on some genera which have been referred to that group. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 4:291–323.
wiki/woolly_opossum_Caluromys
wiki/Tetraclaenodon
wiki/Eomaia
wiki/Cokotherium
Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2025/01/07/tetraclaenodon-moves-to-the-marsupialia-in-the-lrt/
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