Editing Lavanify (section)

==Discovery and context==
Two teeth of ''Lavanify'' were discovered in 1995–1996 during joint expeditions of the [[State University of New York]], [[Stony Brook University]], and the [[University of Antananarivo]] to the [[late Cretaceous]] (mostly [[Maastrichtian]], about 71 to 66 million years ago [mya]) [[Maevarano Formation]] of northwestern Madagascar.<ref>Krause et al., 1997, p.&nbsp;504; 2006, p.&nbsp;179</ref> The two teeth were found in different sites in a white [[sandstone]] unit of the Maevarano Formation near the village of [[Berivotra]] and have been deposited in the collections of the University of Antananarivo (specimen UA&nbsp;8653) and [[Field Museum of Natural History]] (specimen FMNH PM 59520). [[David W. Krause]] and colleagues described ''Lavanify'' and a [[sudamericidae|sudamericid]] from India, which they did not name, in a 1997 paper in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]''. These were the first [[gondwanathere]] mammals to be found outside of Argentina and provided evidence that the mammal faunas of the different [[Gondwana]]n (southern) continents were similar to each other. The [[name of a biological genus|generic name]], ''Lavanify'', means "long tooth" and the [[specific name (zoology)|specific name]], ''miolaka'', means "curved" in [[Malagasy language|Malagasy]]; both refer to the teeth's shape.<ref name=Kea504>Krause et al., 1997, p.&nbsp;504</ref>

Gondwanatheres are a small group of mammals of uncertain [[phylogeny|phylogenetic]] affinities known from the late Cretaceous to the [[Eocene]] (~56–34 mya) of the Gondwanan continents, known only from teeth and a few lower jaws. Upon their discovery in the 1980s, gondwanatheres were initially thought to be [[xenarthra]]ns—part of the same group as living [[sloth]]s, [[armadillo]]s, and [[anteater]]s—but later workers have favored affinities with [[multituberculate]]s (a diverse group of fossil mammals) or left the relationships of the gondwanatheres open. The group comprises two [[family (biology)|families]]. The family [[Ferugliotheriidae]], whose members had low-crowned teeth, occurs in the [[Campanian]] (~84–71 mya) to Maastrichtian of Argentina. All other gondwanatheres, including ''Lavanify'', are placed in the Sudamericidae, which have high-crowned ([[hypsodont]]) teeth. These include ''[[Gondwanatherium]]'' from the Campanian and Maastrichtian of Argentina; ''[[Sudamerica]]'' from the [[Paleocene]] (~66–56 mya) of Argentina; ''Lavanify''; at least one species from the Maastrichtian of India; an unnamed species related to ''Sudamerica'' from the Eocene of Antarctica; and an unnamed possible gondwanathere, [[TNM 02067]], from the Cretaceous of Tanzania.<ref>Wilson et al., 2007, p.&nbsp;521</ref> In 2007, teams led by G.P. Wilson and G.V.R. Prasad independently described this animal as ''Dakshina'' and ''[[Bharattherium]]'' respectively; as the latter name was published first, it is the correct name for this genus according to the [[Principle of Priority]].<ref>Prasad, 2008, p.&nbsp;91</ref> Gondwanatheres have been interpreted as feeding on roots, bark, and abrasive vegetation or as the earliest [[grass-eating]] mammals.<ref>Gurovich and Beck, 2009, p.&nbsp;37; Wilson et al., 2007, p.&nbsp;521</ref>

Several other mammals have been recorded from the late Cretaceous of Madagascar, mostly on the basis of isolated teeth. A possible second gondwanathere is represented by a tooth that is larger and lower-crowned than those of ''Lavanify'', and a yet lower-crowned tooth may also be of a gondwanathere. A lower [[molar (tooth)|molar]], [[UA&nbsp;8699]], may be of a [[marsupial]] or a [[placental]] and a molar fragment is referable to [[Multituberculata]]. Finally, an as-yet-undescribed mammal is known from a fairly complete skeleton. None of these mammals is related to the living mammals of the island, many of which belong to unique groups (see [[List of mammals of Madagascar]]).<ref>Krause et al., 2006, pp.&nbsp;186–188</ref> The fauna also contains [[crocodyliform]]s, [[dinosaur]]s, and other animals.<ref>Krause et al., 2006, p.&nbsp;178</ref>