Editing Lambdopsalis

{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammal}}
{{Italic title}}
{{speciesbox
| name = ''Lambdopsalis''
| image = Lambdopsalis bulla ventral view.jpg
|image_caption = '' Lambdopsalis bulla'' - skull
| fossil_range = [[Thanetian]]<br>~{{fossil range|59|55}}
| genus = Lambdopsalis
| species = bulla
| authority = Chow & Qi, 1978
}}

'''''Lambdopsalis''''' is an extinct [[Multituberculata|multituberculate]] [[mammal]] from the Late [[Paleocene]] of [[China]] and Mongolia. It is placed within the suborder [[Cimolodonta]] and is a member of the superfamily [[Taeniolabidoidea]]. [[Fossil]] remains have been found in the Late Paleocene [[Nomogen Formation|Nomogen]] and [[Khashat Formation]]s in Nao-mugen and Bayn Ulan of China and Mongolia, dated to 59-55 million years ago from the [[Thanetian]] age.<ref>Wilson et al 2012, Supplemental Tables 3 and 5</ref> ''Lambdopsalis bulla'' is the [[type species]] of this genus.  The genus and species were named by Chow and [[Tao Qi]] in 1978.<ref>Chow and Qi, 1978</ref>

Hair and fur fossilize very infrequently, if at all. This genus of multituberculate mammals provides one of the earliest unequivocal examples of mammal fur (Lower [[Cretaceous]] fossils of ''[[Eomaia]], [[Volaticotherium]]'' and ''[[Castorocauda]]'' with the fur preserved still attached are currently the oldest). Indirect evidence suggest that hair first appeared on non-mammalian [[therapsid]]s ([[Therapsida]]), back in the [[Triassic]] or even earlier. This is inferred from small [[foramen|hollows]] on the bone of the snout similar to holes in the skulls of cats which provide space for concentrations of [[nerve]]s and [[blood vessel]]s that innervate prominent whiskers (specialized hairs). This adaptation allows cats to use their whiskers as effective tactile sensory organs.{{cn|date=January 2024}}

In the same Upper Paleocene strata, exceptionally preserved [[coprolite]]s, originally excreted by unknown carnivorous animals, were discovered to contain undigested remains, including hair from ''Lambdopsalis'' and three other different mammal taxa.<ref>Meng and Wyss, 1997</ref><ref>Novacek, 1997</ref>

Studies on its tooth prism and enamel patterns have been performed. It had deciduous enamel, and there is evidence that adults and juveniles had substantially different diets.<ref>Mao et al, 2015</ref> [[Cervical vertebrae]] C2-C3 or C2-C3-C4 appear to be typically fused in individuals of this genus.<ref>Kielan-Jaworowska and Qi, 1990, pp 84-86</ref>
Based on its robust [[humerus]] bones, its flat skull, its fused and stiff neck bones, and thick enamel on its lower incisors,<ref>Mao et al, 2015, pg 32</ref> it is believed that this genus was either partially or fully adapted to a burrowing ([[fossorial]]) lifestyle. Kielan-Jaworowska and Qi suggest similar locomotive behavior to the modern [[Golden mole]].<ref>Kielan-Jaworowska and Qi, 1990, pp 91-92</ref> Fully grown ''L.bulla'' individuals were estimated to have had a body mass of {{convert|0.78|kg|lbs}} and skull length of about {{convert|60.8|mm|in}}.<ref>Wilson et al 2012, Supplemental Table 5</ref> 

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* {{cite journal | author = Chow & Qi, Tao  | year = 1978 | title = Paleocene mammalian fossils from Nomogen Formation of Inner Mongolia | journal = Vertebrata PalAsiatica | volume = 16 | issue = 2| pages = 77–85 }}

* {{cite web |last1=Dykes |first1=Trevor |title=Mesozoic Mammals;Eucosmodontidae, Microcosmodontidae and Taeniolabidoidea, an internet directory |
url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716204423/http://home.arcor.de/ktdykes/taenio.htm |archive-date=16 July 2012 |url=http://home.arcor.de/ktdykes/taenio.htm}}

* {{cite journal | author = Kielan-Jaworowska Z., Hurum J.H. | year = 2001 | title = Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals | journal = Palaeontology | volume = 44 | issue = 3| pages = 389–429 | doi=10.1111/1475-4983.00185| s2cid = 83592270 | url = http://doc.rero.ch/record/14775/files/PAL_E1903.pdf }}

* {{ cite journal|
first1=Zofia|last1 =Kielan-Jaworowska|first2=Tao |last2=Qi|
title= Fossorial adaptations of a Taeniolabidoid Multituberculate mammal from the Eocene of China| journal=Vertebrata PalAsiatica |date=1990| volume=28|issue=2|pages=83–94}}

* {{cite journal |last1=Mao|first1= Fang-Yuan |last2=Wang|first2= Yuan-Qing |last3=Meng|first3= Jin | year = 2015| title = A Systematic Study on Tooth Enamel Microstructures of Lambdopsalis bulla (Multituberculate, Mammalia) - Implications for Multituberculate Biology and Phylogeny | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0128243 | journal = PLOS ONE | volume =  10| issue = 5| pages =  e0128243 | pmid=26020958 | pmc=4447277|bibcode=2015PLoSO..1028243M |doi-access=free }}

* {{cite journal|last1=Meng |first1=J| last2=Wyss|first2=A.R. |title=Multituberculate and other mammal hair recovered from Paleogene excreta|journal=Nature|year=1997|volume=385|issue=6618|pages=712–714|doi=10.1038/385712a0|pmid=9034186|bibcode=1997Natur.385..712M |s2cid=4325160}}

* {{cite journal|author=Novacek, Michael J.|title=Mammalian evolution: '''An early record bristling with evidence'''|journal=Current Biology|year=1997|volume=7|issue=8|pages=R489–R491|doi=10.1016/s0960-9822(06)00245-4|pmid=9259539|doi-access=free}}

* {{cite journal |last1=Wilson | first1=Gregory P. |last2=Evans | first2=Alistair R.| last3=Corfe| first3=Ian J.|last4=Smits|first4=Peter D.|last5=Fortelius|first5=Mikael|last6=Jernvall|first6=Jukka
| title=Adaptive radiation of multituberculate mammals before the extinction of dinosaurs
|date=2012|journal= Nature|volume=483| issue=7390 |pages=457–460|doi=10.1038/nature10880| pmid=22419156 | s2cid=4419772 }}

{{Allotheria|C.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1419682}}

[[Category:Cimolodonta]]
[[Category:Paleocene mammals of Asia]]
[[Category:Paleocene genus extinctions]]
[[Category:Prehistoric animals of China]]
[[Category:Fossils of Mongolia]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1978]]
[[Category:Prehistoric mammal genera]]