Acristatherium

Ah-kris-tah-feee-ree-um.
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John Stewart

Paleoecologist

John Stewart is a distinguished paleoecologist whose work has significantly advanced our understanding of prehistoric ecosystems. With over two decades dedicated to unearthing fossils across Asia and Africa

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Name

Acristatherium ‭(‬Crestless beast‭)‬.

Phonetic

Ah-kris-tah-feee-ree-um.

Named By

Yaoming Hu,‭ ‬Jin Meng,‭ ‬Chuankui Li‭ & ‬Yuanqing Wang‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Eutheria.

Diet

Insectivore.

Species

A.‭ ‬yanensis‭

Size

Total size unknown,‭ ‬holotype skull is‭ ‬25‭ ‬millimetres long.

Known locations

China,‭ ‬Liaoning Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Yixian Formation.

Time Period

Aptian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial skull.

In Depth

       Although so far known from only a single partial skull,‭ ‬Acristatherium is thought to represent one of the oldest known eutherian mammals.‭ ‬Acristatherium probably spent most of the time hunting for invertebrate prey which could easily be caught and processed by the small but sharp teeth,‭ ‬while trying to stay out of sight of predatory dinosaurs like Sinornithosaurus,‭ ‬Huaxiagnathus and Tianyuraptor.

Further Reading

-‭ ‘‬New basal eutherian mammal from the Early Cretaceous Jehol biota,‭ ‬Liaoning,‭ ‬China,‭ ‬Yaoming Hu,‭ ‬Jin Meng,‭ ‬Chuankui Li‭ & ‬Yuanqing Wang‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010.

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