Dharragarra
| Dharragarra Temporal range:Late Cretaceous(Cenomanian),
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|---|---|
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Monotremata |
| Family: | Ornithorhynchidae(?) |
| Genus: | †Dharragarra Flannery, 2024 |
| Species: | †D. aurora
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| Binomial name | |
| †Dharragarra aurora | |
Dharragarra(meaning "platypus"in theGamilaraay language) is anextinctgenus ofmonotrememammal from theLate Cretaceous(Cenomanian)Griman Creek Formationof Australia. The genus contains asingle species,D. aurora,known from a partial leftmandibular ramus.Dharragarrawas likely more closely related to the living platypus than many other monotremes of the Cretaceous.
Discovery and naming
[edit]
TheDharragarraholotypespecimen,AMF97262, was discovered in 2002 in sediments of theGriman Creek Formation(Wallangulla Sandstone Member) nearLightning Ridge,New South Wales,Australia. The specimen consists of a partial left horizontalmandibular ramus.[1]This bone was first mentioned by Anne Musser in part of a 2013 publication, where it was identified as asteropodontid.[2]In a 2022 monotreme evolution review, Flannery et al. alluded to it as an unnamed new genus of stem-ornithorhynchid.[3]
In 2024, Flannery et al.describedDharragarra auroraas a new genus and species of early monotreme based on these fossil remains. Thegeneric name,Dharragarra,is a word that means "platypus" in theGamilaraay, Yuwaalaraay and Yuwaalayaaylanguages, referencing this taxon's resemblance to theextantlineage. Thespecific name,aurora,is aLatinword meaning "dawn", considering the taxon's position at the beginning of monotreme evolution.[1]
Several other monotremes are known from the Griman Creek Formation, includingOpaliosandParvopalus—which were described in the samepublicationasDharragarra—as well asKollikodon,Steropodon,andStirtodon.[1][4]
Classification
[edit]Dharragarrais one of the oldest members of theplatypusandechidnalineage, being closer to them than the coevalornithorhynchoidOpalios.Due to the close resemblance of its jaw to that of a platypus,Dharragarrais considered one of the oldest members of the platypusstem lineage,although it likely predates the divergence of platypuses and echidnas.[1]
References
[edit]- ^abcdFlannery, Timothy F.;McCurry, Matthew R.;Rich, Thomas H.;Vickers-Rich, Patricia;Smith, Elizabeth T.; Helgen, Kristofer M. (2024-05-26)."A diverse assemblage of monotremes (Monotremata) from the Cenomanian Lightning Ridge fauna of New South Wales, Australia".Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology:1–19.doi:10.1080/03115518.2024.2348753.ISSN0311-5518.
- ^Musser, A. M. (2013). "Classification and evolution of the monotremes". In Ashwell, K. (ed.).Neurobiology of Monotremes: Brain Evolution in Our Distant Mammalian Cousins.Melbourne:CSIRO Publishing.p. 8.ISBN9780643103153.
- ^Flannery, Timothy F.;Rich, Thomas H.;Vickers-Rich, Patricia;Ziegler, Tim; Veatch, E. Grace; Helgen, Kristofer M. (2022-01-02)."A review of monotreme (Monotremata) evolution".Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.46(1): 3–20.doi:10.1080/03115518.2022.2025900.ISSN0311-5518.
- ^de Kruijff, Peter (2024-05-26)."'Echidnapus' fossil of potential echidna and platypus ancestor may point to Australian 'age of monotremes'".ABC News.Archived fromthe originalon 2024-05-27.Retrieved2024-05-27.
