Vintana

Vintana
Temporal range: Maastrichtian
~70.6–66 Ma
Life reconstruction of Vintana sertichi. Postcranial reconstruction is hypothetical.
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Family: Sudamericidae
Genus: Vintana
Krause et al., 2014
Species:
V. sertichi
Binomial name
Vintana sertichi
Krause et al., 2014

Vintana sertichi is an early groundhog-like mammal dating from the Late Cretaceous, approximately 66 million years ago. Scientists found the lone fossil, a skull, on Madagascar's west coast in the Maastrichtian Maevarano Formation.

Vintana is extremely relevant to the understanding of gondwanatheres because it is the first well-preserved skull, as opposed to previous fragments and teeth. Establishing a connection with multituberculates and haramiyidans in the theriiform clade Allotheria, it is a rather unusual animal, possessing massive lateral flanges in its skull whose exact purpose is poorly understood, as well as massive olfactory bulbs. A rather large animal at a weight of 19 pounds (8.74 kg), Vintana also represents another example of a considerably large Mesozoic mammal alongside Adalatherium, other gondwanathere from same formation, this body mass is only exceeded by Repenomamus.

See also



This page was last updated at 2023-10-08 05:58 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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