Mammaliaformes ("mammalian forms") is a clade of synapsid that includes the crown group and their closest extinction relatives; the group radiated from earlier during the Late Triassic.
Mammaliaformes is a term of phylogenetic nomenclature. In contrast, the assignment of organisms to class Mammalia has traditionally been founded on phenotypic trait and, on this basis, Mammalia is slightly more inclusive than Mammaliaformes. In particular, trait-based taxonomy generally includes Adelobasileus and Sinoconodon in Mammalia, though they fall outside the Mammaliaformes definition. These genera are included in the broader clade Mammaliamorpha, defined phylogenetically as the clade originating with the last common ancestor of Tritylodontidae and the crown group mammals.[ This wider group includes some families that trait-based taxonomy does not include in Mammalia, in particular Tritylodontidae and Brasilodontidae.
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Animals in the clade Mammaliaformes are often called mammaliaforms, without the e. Sometimes, the spelling mammaliforms is used. The origin of crown-group mammals extends back to the Jurassic, with extensive findings in the Late Jurassic outcrops of Portugal and China. The earliest confirmed specimens of fur are found in them, demonstrating that the ancestors of mammals had already developed fur.
Mammaliaforms in life
Early mammaliaforms were generally shrew-like in appearance and size, and most of their distinguishing characteristics were internal. In particular, the structure of the mammaliaform (and mammal) jaw and the arrangement of Mammal tooth are nearly unique. Instead of having many teeth that are frequently replaced, mammals have one set of baby teeth and later one set of adult teeth that fit together precisely. This is thought to aid in the grinding of food to make it quicker to digest.
Lactation, along with other characteristically mammalian features, is also thought to characterize the Mammaliaformes, but these traits are difficult to study in the fossil record. Evidence of lactation is present in , via tooth replacement patterns.[Panciroli E., Benson RBJ., and Walsh S. 2017. The dentary of Wareolestes rex (Megazostrodontidae): a new specimen from Scotland and implications for morganucodontan tooth replacement. Papers in Palaeontology] Combined with the more basal that also display evidence of lactation,[Hu, Yaoming; Meng, Jin; Clark, James M. "A New Tritylodontid from the Upper Jurassic of Xinjiang, China". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 54 (3): 385–391. .] this seems to imply that milk is an ancestral characteristic in this group. However, the fairly derived Sinoconodon appears to have uniquely discarded milk altogether. Prior to hatching, the milk glands would provide moisture to the leathery eggs, a situation still found in monotremes.
The early mammaliaforms did have a harderian gland. In modern mammals, this is used for cleaning the fur, indicating that they, contrary to their cynodont ancestors, had a furry covering. An insulative covering is necessary to keep a homeothermy animal warm if it is very small, less than 5 cm (1.97 in) long;
It is possible that early mammaliaforms had vibrissae; Tritheledontidae, a group of , probably had whiskers.
Like monotremes today, the legs of early mammaliaforms were somewhat sprawling, giving a rather "reptilian" type of gait. However, there was a general tendency to have more erect forelimbs, forms like even having a fundamentally modern forelimb anatomy while the hindlimbs remained "primitive";[Kielan−Jaworowska, Z. and Hurum, J.H. 2006. Limb posture in early mammals: Sprawling or parasagittal. Acta Palae−
ontologica Polonica 51 (3): 393–406.] In some forms, the hind feet likely bore a spur similar to those found in the platypus and . Such a spur would have been connected to a venom gland for protection or mating competition.
Hadrocodium lacks the multiple bones in its lower jaw seen in . These are still retained, however, in earlier mammaliaforms.
With the possible exception of Megazostrodon and Erythrotherium (as well as placental mammals),[Jason A. Lillegraven, Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, William A. Clemens, Mesozoic Mammals: The First Two-Thirds of Mammalian History, University of California Press, 17/12/1979 - 321] all mammaliforms possess epipubic bones, a possibly synapomorphy with , which also have them.[Stephen Reily and Thomas White, Hypaxial Motor Patterns and the Function of Epipubic Bones in Primitive Mammals, ARTICLE in SCIENCE 299(5605):400-2 · FEBRUARY 2003, Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA. Impact Factor: 33.61 · · Source: PubMed] These pelvic bones strengthen the torso and support abdominal and hindlimb musculature. They, however, prevent the expansion of the abdomen, and so force species that possess them to either give birth to larval young (as in modern marsupials), or produce minuscule eggs that hatch into larval young (as in modern monotremes).[Michael L. Power, Jay Schulkin. The Evolution Of The Human Placenta. pp. 68–.] Most mammaliforms, therefore, probably had the same constraints, and some species could have borne pouches.
Phylogeny
The cladogram below follows the analysis of Luo and colleagues in 2015.
Expanded from above
Cladogram based on Rougier et al. (1996)
See also
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Evolution of mammals
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Permian–Triassic extinction event
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Therapsida
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Vertebrate paleontology
External links
