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ADELOBASILEUS
(a-del-o-bah-sil-e-us)
meaning: "Obscure king"
Adelobasileus
Named By: S. G. Hunt & A. P. Hunt in 1990
Time Period: Late Triassic, 225 Ma
Location: USA, Texas - Tecovas Formation
Size: Uncertain due to lack of remains, Skull length about 17 millimetres
Diet: Insectivore
Fossil(s): Partial skull
Classification: | Chordata | Mammaliamorpha |
About

Adelobasileus cromptoni is a species of an extinct genus of mammal-like synapsid from the Late Triassic (Carnian), about 225 million years ago. It is known only from a partial skull recovered from the Tecovas formation in western Texas, southern United States.

Roughly contemporary with the mammaliaform Tikitherium, Adelobasileus predates the non-mammalian cynodonts Tritylodontidae and Tritheledontidae by 10 million years. In fact, distinct cranial features, especially the housing of the cochlea, suggest that Adelobasileus is a transitional form in the character transformation from cynodonts to Triassic mammals. For this reason, it is thought to be the common ancestor of all modern mammals or a close relative of the common ancestor. Though traditionally classified as a mammal by trait-based taxonomy, it is outside the crown group containing all true mammals.

Read more about Adelobasileus at Wikipedia
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