title: A new Cretaceous Metatherian mammal from Henan, China.
abstract: We report a new deltatheroidan mammal from the Upper Cretaceous of Henna, China. The new taxon, Lotheridium mengi, is based on a nearly complete skull and associated lower jaws with full adult dentition. Deltatheroidans are known mostly from fragmentary specimens from Asia and North America. Previous views on deltatheroidan relationships were diverse, but recent studies favored their metatherian affinity. The new specimen represents the most complete skull known for deltatheroidans and provides additional evidence that deltatheroidans already had the distinctive metatherian dental formula and replacement pattern and several other derived metatherian features, supporting the metatherian status for this clade. The new species also indicates that deltatheroidan mammals were more diverse and had broader geographical distributions than previously thought.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China ; Department of Biology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania , Indiana, PA , United States of America.
authors.forename: Shundong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Museum of Natural History , Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province , China.
authors.forename: Xingsheng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing , China.
authors.forename: Shuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Museum of Natural History , Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province , China.
authors.forename: Tianming
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Du
keywords: Basal metatherian; Henan; Mammal; Tooth formula and replacement pattern; Upper Cretaceous