There exist three key clades relevant to living mammals (Fig. 6.1). The first is Synapsida—
based on the total group, ie, any species more closely related to an opossum than to an …

As evolutionary biologists, we live in exciting and promising times. The material basis of our
science is growing at an unprecedented rate; fossils preserving structures we thought …

Following our traditional concept of Mammalia, and thus including a number of forms known
only by fossils of the Mesozoic, the earliest mammals are from the Late Triassic, a bit over …

The contemporary phylogenetic perspective on early mammalian history has obvious, deep
foundations in earlier research, but it is nevertheless significantly different from the dominant …

As with any crown group, Mammalia is defined by extinction and comprises all descendants
of the common ancestor shared by the three synapsid lineages that happen to exist today …

All Mesozoic mammaliaforms reported from China are briefly documented herein. These
forms can be divided into at least five major assemblages: Lufeng, Yanliao (Daohugou) …

Mammalia is defined by its ancestry as the taxon originating with the most recent common
ancestor of extant Monotremata and Theria. To diagnose Mammalia as so defined, 176 …

Knowledge of early mammalian evolution has been based on Old World Late Triassic-Early
Jurassic faunas. The discovery of mammalian fossils of approximately equivalent age in the …

Overview The distribution of thirty-eight basicranial characters is considered among
monotremes, marsupials, placentals, and the following extinct taxa—Tritheledontidae …

Abstract The Middle Jurassic witnessed the early diversification of mammal groups,
including the stem‐mammalian clade, Docodonta. Recent discoveries in China indicate …