#sinodelphys

[libbydd]

random pages from some prehistoric zines im working on

[252mya]

Mammals Among the Conifers Christmas tree skirt

As dinosaurs towered above them, small mammals slumbered at their feet. Eomaia and Sinodelphys are curled up among the conifer branches in this Christmas tree skirt. Design by Angela R Connor

sulc.us/mamcon

[carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory]

Sinodelphys szalayi is the earliest known relative of modern marsupials like kangaroos, wallabies, and opossums. Sinodelphys shows that although most modern marsupials live in Australia or South America, they actually originated in Asia during the Cretaceous Period.

[palaeopedia]

The chinese opossum, Sinodelphys (2003)

Phylum : Chordata Class : Mammalia Indraclass : Metatheria Genus : Sinodelphys Species : S. szalayi

Early Cretaceous (125 Ma)

15 cm long and 30 g (size)

Yixian formation, China (map)

Sinodelphys szalayi grew only 15 cm long and possibly weighed about 30 g. Its fossilized skeleton is surrounded by impressions of fur and soft tissue, thanks to the exceptional sediment that preserves such details. Luo et al. inferred from the foot structure of Sinodelphys that it was a scansorial tree-dweller, like its non-marsupial contemporary Eomaia and modern opossums such as Didelphis. Sinodelphys probably hunted worms and insects. Most Mesozoic metatherians have been found in North America and Asia. Most lived during the Late Cretaceous between 90-65 million years ago.