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Gondwanatheria is an extinct group of that lived in parts of Gondwana, including Madagascar, India, South America, Africa, and Antarctica during the Upper Cretaceous through the Miocene (and possibly much earlier, if Allostaffia is a member of this group). Until recently, they were known only from fragmentary remains. They are generally considered to be closely related to the multituberculates and likely the Euharamiyida, well known from the Northern Hemisphere, with which they form the clade Allotheria.
There are three known families within Gondwanatheria. The family Sudamericidae was named by Scillato-Yané and Pascual in 1984, and includes the vast majority of named taxa. The family Ferugliotheriidae was named by José Bonaparte in 1986, and includes one genus, Ferugliotherium, and possibly a few other forms like Trapalcotherium from the Late Cretaceous of South America. Ferugliotheriidae are considered the most basal gondawanatherians, and are sometimes recovered outside the group.
Further have come from India, Madagascar and Antarctica. A possible Ferugliotherium-like species occurs in Maastrichtian deposits of Mexico, extending the clade to North America.SVP 2015
The youngest gondwanatherians are known from the Eocene of South America and Antarctica. The Eocene genus Groeberiidae and Miocene genus Patagonia, two mammals from South America with unusual tooth morphologies usually considered Metatheria, were considered by one paper to be gondwanatheres. However, their conclusions have generally not been accepted.
An articulated specimen found in the Maevarano Formation offers insight to the postcranial skeleton of these animals. Among the bizarre and unique features are a mediolaterally compressed and antero-posteriorly bowed tibia, a double trochlea (grooved structure) on the talus bone, a fully developed humeral trochlea, and an unusually high number of trunk vertebrae. The new taxon has at least 19 rib-bearing (thoracic) and 11 non-rib-bearing (lumbar) vertebrae. Aside from these derived features, the Malagasy mammal has a mosaic pectoral girdle morphology: the procoracoid is lost, the coracoid is extremely well developed (into an enlarged process that contributes to half of the glenoid cavity), the interclavicle is small, and the sternoclavicular joint appears mobile. A ventrally-facing glenoid and the well-developed humeral trochlea suggest a relatively parasagittal posture for the forelimbs. Remarkable features of the hind limb and pelvic girdle include a large obturator foramen similar in size to that of , a large parafibula, and the presence of an epipubic bone.HOFFMANN, Simone, THE FIRST POSTCRANIAL REMAINS OF A GONDWANATHERIAN MAMMAL, October 2016
The fully described animal, now named Adalatherium hui, is a comparatively large sized mammal, compared in size to a large cat. It has more erect limbs than other allotheres.
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