Tsagandelta (meaning "white crest") is a genus of deltatheroidean therian mammal that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous. Distantly related to modern marsupials, it is part of Deltatheroida, a lineage of carnivorous metatherians common in the Cretaceous of Asia and among the most successful non-theropod carnivores of the region. It represents the first known mammal from the Bayan Shireh Formation.
| Tsagandelta Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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| Preserved left dentary in lateral view, holotype PSS-MAE 629 | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Deltatheroida |
| Family: | †Deltatheridiidae |
| Genus: | †Tsagandelta Rougier et al. 2015 |
| Species: | †T. dashzevegi
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| Binomial name | |
| †Tsagandelta dashzevegi Rougier et al. 2015
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Discovery and naming
editThe holotype was first discovered and collected in 2002 during the field expedition conducted by the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and the American Museum of Natural History, the specimen only preserved a partial left dentary. It was discovered on the outcrops at the Tsagan Tsonj locality in the Bayan Shireh Formation,[1] the age is estimated to be around 102 million to 86 million years ago, between the Cenomanian and Santonian stages of the Late Cretaceous epoch.[2] The generic name, Tsagandelta, is derived from the Mongolian цагаан (tsagaan, meaning white) and the Greek δέλτᾰ (delta, meaning crest or point-shaped) in reference to the withish sediments at the Tsagan Tsonj locality and the prominent dentition of the Deltatheroida. The specific name, dashzevegi, is in honor to the Mongolian paleontologist Demberlyin Dashzeveg who did notable research on early mammals.[1]
Description
editTsagandelta is currently known from one specimen, the holotype PSS-MAE 629. This specimen is composed of a left dentary fragment containing an almost intact second molar, the base of the third molar and the roots of the first premolar; various other tooth sockets are empty, and the dental formula is probably similar to that of Deltatheridium.[1] Based on comparisons with the related Lotheridium, the preserved dentary indicates that Tsagandelta was slightly smaller than the former; Lotheridium is about the size of a modern marten.[3]
Classification
editTsagandelta was classified within the Deltatheridiidae, being more derived than Sulestes and Oklatheridium but less so than the rest of the family. This phylogenetic position has been argued to suggest an Asian origin for Deltatheroida.[1]
Paleobiology
editLike most deltatheroideans, Tsagandelta was a carnivore, its molar anatomy similar to the carnassials of other carnivorous therians. Tsagandelta and its relatives (as well as the unrelated eutriconodonts) are among the Mesozoic mammals most clearly specialised to meat-eating.[1][3]
Paleoecology
editTsagandelta hails from the Bayan Shireh Formation, dating from the Cenomanian to the Santonian.[1][2] It is adjacent to the Iren Dabasu Formation, these formations bear a very similar fauna.[4] A great diversity of reptiles are known from the Bayan Shireh Formation, mainly compromising dinosaur and non-dinosaur taxa that likely preyed on Tsagandelta, mammals however, are pooly known from this formation.[5][6][7][8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Rougier, G. W.; Davis, B. M.; Novacek, M. J. (2015). "A deltatheroidan mammal from the Upper Cretaceous Baynshiree Formation, eastern Mongolia". Cretaceous Research. 52: 167–177. Bibcode:2015CrRes..52..167R. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2014.09.009.
- ^ a b Kurumada, Y.; Aoki, S.; Aoki, K.; Kato, D.; Saneyoshi, M.; Tsogtbaatar, K.; Windley, B. F.; Ishigaki, S. (2020). "Calcite U–Pb age of the Cretaceous vertebrate‐bearing Bayn Shire Formation in the Eastern Gobi Desert of Mongolia: usefulness of caliche for age determination". Terra Nova. 32 (4): 246–252. doi:10.1111/ter.12456.
- ^ a b Bi, S.; Jin, X.; Li, S.; Du, T. (2015). "A new Cretaceous Metatherian mammal from Henan, China". PeerJ. 3: e896. doi:10.7717/peerj.896. PMC 4400878. PMID 25893149.
- ^ Tsuihiji, T.; Watabe, M.; Barsbold, R.; Tsogtbaatar, K. (2015). "A gigantic caenagnathid oviraptorosaurian (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia". Cretaceous Research. 56: 60–65. Bibcode:2015CrRes..56...60T. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.03.007.
- ^ Turner, A. H. (2015). "A Review of Shamosuchus and Paralligator (Crocodyliformes, Neosuchia) from the Cretaceous of Asia". PLOS ONE. 10 (2): e0118116. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1018116T. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118116. PMC 4340866. PMID 25714338.
- ^ Tsogtbaatar, K.; Weishampel, D. B.; Evans, D. C.; Watabe, M. (2019). "A new hadrosauroid (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Late Cretaceous Baynshire Formation of the Gobi Desert (Mongolia)". PLOS ONE. 14 (4): e0208480. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1408480T. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0208480. PMC 6469754. PMID 30995236.
- ^ Park, J. Y.; Lee, Y. N.; Currie, P. J.; Kobayashi, Y.; Koppelhus, E.; Barsbold, R.; Mateus, O.; Lee, S.; Kim, S. H. (2019). "Additional skulls of Talarurus plicatospineus (Dinosauria: Ankylosauridae) and implications for paleobiogeography and paleoecology of armored dinosaurs". Cretaceous Research. 108: 104340. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104340. S2CID 212423361.
- ^ Lee, Y. M.; Lee, H. J.; Kobayashi, Y.; Carabajal, A. P.; Barsbold, R.; Fiorillo, A. R.; Tsogtbaatar, K. (2019). "Unusual locomotion behaviour preserved within a crocodyliform trackway from the Upper Cretaceous Bayanshiree Formation of Mongolia and its palaeobiological implications". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 533 (109353): 2. Bibcode:2019PPP...53309239L. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109239. S2CID 197584839.