Maotherium

Name: Maotherium ‭(‬Mao’s beast‭)‬.
Phonetic: Mow-fee-ree-um.
Named By: G.‭ ‬W.‭ ‬Rougier,‭ ‬Q.‭ ‬Ji‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Novacek‭ ‬-‭ ‬2003.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Symmetrodonta,‭ ‬Zhangheotheriidae.
Species: M. sinensis (type), M. asiaticus.
Diet: Insectivore.
Size: About‭ ‬15‭ ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: China‭ ‬-‭ ‬Yixian Formation.
Time period: Aptian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete individuals preserved flat.

       A symmetrodont mammal from the Early Cretaceous of China,‭ ‬Maotherium would have been a small predatory of insects.‭ ‬Maotherium was named after the Chinese politician Mao Zedong.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new symmetrodont mammal with fur impressions from the Mesozoic of China.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Acta Geologica Sinica‭ ‬77‭(‬1‭)‬:7-14.‭ ‬-‭ ‬G.‭ ‬W.‭ ‬Rougier,‭ ‬Q.‭ ‬Ji‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Novacek‭ ‬-‭ ‬2003.



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