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Protungulatum coombsi
Taxonomy
Protungulatum coombsi was named by Archibald et al. (2011). Its type specimen is OMNH 64985, a tooth (last left upper premolar), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Spigot-Bottle locality, which is in a Maastrichtian fluvial-deltaic horizon in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana.
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Protungulatum coombsi Archibald et al. |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
†Protungulatum coombsi Archibald et al. 2011
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Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| J. D. Archibald et al. 2011 | OMNH 64985 is identical to last upper premolars of Protungulatum donnae, except the former averages 21% (range 13 to 26%) longer, 18% (range 10 to 26%) wider anteriorly, and 18% (range 11 to 23%) wider posteriorly than a sample of 15 specimens of P. donnae, making its larger size statistically significant (Fig. 3). Compared to species of Oxyprimus, the last upper premolar of Protungulatum (only known in P. coombsi and P. donnae) is larger, has a deeper ectoflexus, and a protocone that is relatively larger in relation to the paracone. Compared to species of Mimatuta, in the last upper premolar of Protungulatum the protocone apex is more lingual and has a shorter, steeper lingual slope, and the ectoflexus is slightly deeper. Compared to latest Cretaceous eutherians, the labial margin of the last upper premolar in Protungulatum donnae and in OMNH 64985 are curved because para- and metastylar regions (Fig. 2: “p” and “m”) are broader. This margin is straighter in the similarly sized Cimolestes stirtoni and C. magnus. Pre- and postcingula are common in Protungulatum donnae, occurring in OMNH 64985, but on occasion can be present among other taxa, especially in C. magnus. Cimolestes stirtoni and C. magnus have carnassial notches and central cristae lacking in Protungulatum donnae and OMNH 64985. Late Cretaceous zhelestid upper last premolars resemble those of Protungula- tum more than those of Cimolestes, except as in Cimolestes, stylar regions are straighter (Nessov et al. 1998). The broken and worn last upper premolar known in the large Late Cretaceous taeniodont eutherian Schowalteria (Fox and Naylor 2003) differs from P. coombsi in the same ways as do these teeth of Cimolestes stirtoni and C. magnus. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: g = genus, f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Lillegraven 1979, Carroll 1988, Archibald 1998, Hendy et al. 2009, Wilson 1975, Ji et al. 2002 | |||||
Age range: Late/Upper Maastrichtian or 72.20000 to 66.00000 Ma
Collections: one only
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late/Upper Maastrichtian | USA (Montana) | Protungulatum coombsi (type locality: 110464) |