Thomasia (animal)

Thomasia is a mammaliaform from the family Haramiyidae that is part of a lineage either unrelated to or a paraphyletic parent to multituberculates[1] from the Early Jurassic period.

Thomasia
Temporal range: Rhaetian-Hettangian
~206–189 Ma
Molariforms of Thomasia cf. moorei
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Therapsida
Clade: Cynodontia
Order: †Haramiyida
Family: †Haramiyidae
Genus: †Thomasia
Poche, 1908
Type species
†Microlestes antiquus
Pleininger, 1847
Species
  • †T. antiqua (Plieninger, 1847)
  • †T. hahni Butler & Macintyre, 1994
  • †T. moorei (Owen, 1871)
  • †T. woutersi Butler & Macintyre, 1994
Synonyms
  • Haramiya Simpson, 1947
  • Microcleptes Simpson, 1928
  • Microlestes Plieninger, 1847
  • Pleiningeria Krausse, 1919

Only its teeth and skull have been found; judging from these it has been constructed as a 12 cm (5 in) creature with a resemblance to modern voles. It is presumed to have fed on the leaves of tree ferns, as it had broad cheek teeth for crushing tough vegetable food.[2][3]

Distribution

Fossils of the genus have been found in:[4]

Triassic
Jurassic
  • Pant Fissure System 4, Pant Quarry, St. Bride's Island, Wales

References
  1. http://palaeos.com/vertebrates/mammaliformes/mammaliformes.html#Haramiyida Palaeos on Haramiya
  2. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 199. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  3. Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, Richard L. Cifelli, and Zhe-Xi Luo, Mammals from the Age of Dinosaurs: Origins, Evolution, and Structure (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), 249–260.
  4. Thomasia at Fossilworks.org


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