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Mandibular and dental characteristics of the Late Jurassic mammal Henkelotherium guimarotae (Paurodontidae, Dryolestida)

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Abstract

Henkelotherium guimarotae Krebs 1991 is an important Jurassic mammal for understanding therian evolution. We are presenting a new study of extensive, previously undescribed, mandibles and dentitions. The revised dental formula is: I4? or 5?/i4, C1/c1, P4/p4, M6/m7. The canine and premolars show an alternate replacement that ends with M4/m4 eruption, and is followed by a late sequential eruption of the last three lower (m5-7) and last two upper (M5-6) molars. The lower premolars erupted in the following order: p1 → p3 → p2 → p4, and the canine erupted most probably shortly before p4. The timing of the premolar replacement before the late molar eruption is similar to that of Dryolestes leiriensis, and is a characteristic of dryolestidans. Henkelotherium lower molars have subequal roots, a plesiomorphy of non-dryolestidan mammals, and the upper molars are supported by a strong, curved lingual root; a derived character. In the upper molars, the postvallum wear surface is contiguous to the parastyle wear surface of the succeeding molar, which differs from dryolestids. The parastylar lobe of the succeeding molar, and the postvallum of the preceding molar, are imbricated, and can develop strong, continuous wear surfaces, matching the prevallid crest of the lower molar. Henkelotherium differs from dryolestids in having an inflected, shelf-like mandibular angular process with a foramen. This large sample of Henkelotherium shows a significant variation gradient along the molar series, with the strongest wear occurring only in two to three consecutive molars. The extraordinarily long molar row is correlated with the late growth of jaws; and the jaw with late addition of molars sustained an effective mastication, much longer in older adults of dryolestidans than in other Mesozoic stem therians. The late eruption of several more molars after completion of antemolar replacement suggests that dryolestidans had either a longer-lived life, or slower life-history traits, or a combination of both, than crown therians.

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Data availability

Specimens are deposited in the cited collections and institutions. Images of segmentation of all specimens scanned by uCT for this study, and SEM images of all specimens examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy are presented in text figures. The supplementary information provides further data in photographs of additional 15 specimens, and three movies on the composite reconstruction of adult mandibles, of the juvenile specimen Gui Mam 44/80, and of a restoration of incisors and canine of Gui Mam 133/77. Additional data are available from authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Field work in Portugal was generously supported by the Serviços Geológicos de Portugal (Lisbon). Special thanks are due to the former director of this institution F. Moitinho de Almeida and his successor M. Ramalho for their long-term goodwill. E. Eggert (Drescher) masterfully prepared the fossils. M. Bulang-Lörcher (both Free University Berlin) drew the mandible of Fig. 6. D. Kranz provided the drawings of Fig. 8, and G. Oleschinski (both University of Bonn) assisted at the SEM; he and Sven Tränkner (Senckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt) provided the photographs. April I. Neander (The University of Chicago) scanned the fossil specimens and meticulously executed a large volume of 3D renderings for this study. During this study, we benefited from extensive discussion from A. O. Averianov, K. R. K. Jäger, and G. W. Rougier. Luo likes to thank G. W. Rougier for the opportunity to see the meridiolestidan specimens. D. R. Prothero graciously granted the permission to re-use graphics. Our manuscript benefitted from constructive comments by reviewers Pam Gill (University of Bristol) and Elsa Panciroli (University of Oxford).The excavations in the Guimarota mine (1973-1982) were financed by the Freie Universität Berlin and the German Research Foundation (DFG). Z.-X. Luo was funded by a Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation (Bonn) and Division of Biological Sciences of the University of Chicago. T. Martin was granted a sabbatical leave by the University of Bonn.

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  1. Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago, 1027 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

    Zhe-Xi Luo

  2. Section Paleontology, Institute of Geosciences, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115, Bonn, Germany

    Thomas Martin

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Luo, ZX., Martin, T. Mandibular and dental characteristics of the Late Jurassic mammal Henkelotherium guimarotae (Paurodontidae, Dryolestida). PalZ 97, 569–619 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-023-00651-z

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