Belongs within: Boreosphenida.
Contains: Notometatheria.
The Metatheria are a clade of mammals including the total group of modern marsupials and all fossil taxa more closely related to marsupials than to other mammals. The earliest metatherians are known from the early Late Cretaceous of Eurasia and North America though they only survived into the Cenozoic in South America and Australia.
Synapomorphies (from Bi et al. 2014, for Sulestes + Marsupialia): Posterior vertical shelf of masseteric fossa connected to dentary condyle as thin crest along angular margin of mandible; dentary condyle continuous with semicircular posterior margin of dentary, condyle facing up due to up-turning of posterior-most part of dentary; molar with cristid obliqua present, contact closest to lowest point of protocristid; mesiolingual vertical crest of paraconid on lower molars forming a keel; entoconid near height of hypoconid; paraconid, metaconid, and entoconid on lower molars aligned; functional talonid basin of lower molars as long as wide; hypoconid/protoconid height ratio between 40% and 60%; stylar cuspule “C” (near ectoflexus) present on penultimate upper molar; wear facets 5 and 6 differentiated on labial face of entoconid; five upper incisors present; upper anterior-most incisor anteriorly projecting, separated from following teeth by diastema; body of calcaneus mediolaterally compressed at level of posterior calcaneoastragalar facet; calcaneal tubercle ventrally curved; lacrimal foramen on facial side of lacrimal; optic foramen not separated from sphenorbital fissure; incisive foramina intermediate in size.
<==Metatheria [Boreometatheria, Didelphoidea, Marsupialiformes, Marsupicarnivora]VG09 |--Sulestes Nesov 1985BW14, SM93 `--+--MarsasiaLJ03 `--+--KokopelliaVG09 `--+--Asiatherium [Asiadelphia]SK20 `--+--Albertatherium Fox 1971BW14, SM93 `--+--AnchistodelphysLJ03 `--+--NotometatheriaRWN98 `--Peradectia [Alphadelphia]CGW04 | i. s.: Caroloameghinia Ameghino 1901SM93 [CaroloameghiniidaeCGW04, Caroloameghinioidea] |--StagodontidaeSM93 | |--Pariodens Cifelli & Eaton 1987SM93 | `--Didelphodon Marsh 1889LJ03, SM93 | `--D. vorax Marsh 1889FN03 |--PediomyidaeSM93 | |--Aquiladelphis Fox 1971SM93 | |--Iqualadelphis Fox 1987SM93 | `--Pediomys Marsh 1889LJ03, SM93 | |--P. clemensiG03 | |--P. elegansG03 | |--P. hatcheriSBL05 | |--P. krejciiG03 | `--P. prokrejciiG03 `--PeradectidaeGH99 |--Kasserinotherium tunisiense Crochet 1986GH99 |--Didelphidectes pumilus Hough 1961S96 |--Nanodelphys huntiTPG96 |--Alphadon Simpson 1927CGW04, SM93 [Alphadontidae] | |--A. halleyiG03 | |--A. marshi Simpson 1927FN03 | |--A. perexiguusG03 | `--A. rhaisterKA82 `--Peradectes Matthew & Granger 1921S35 |--*P. elegans Matthew & Granger 1921S35 |--P. californicus (Stock 1936)W96 |--P. minorOB13 `--P. minutus (McGrew 1937)S96 Metatheria incertae sedis: Kiruwamaq Goin & Candela 2004AH07 Arcantiodelphys Vullo, Gheerbrant et al. 2009VG09 `--*A. marchandi Vullo, Gheerbrant et al. 2009VG09 DakotadensVG09 TurgidodonLJ03 |--T. praesagusG03 |--T. rhaisterG03 `--T. russelliG03 IugomortiferumVG09 AdelodelphysVG09 SinbadelphysVG09 Lycopsis longirostrisKA82 Thylaphorops chapalmalensisKA82
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[AH07] Asher, R. J., I. Horovitz, T. Martin & M. R. Sánchez-Villagra. 2007. Neither a rodent nor a platypus: a reexamination of Necrolestes patagoniensis Ameghino. American Museum Novitates 3546: 1–40.
[BW14] Bi, S., Y. Wang, J. Guan, X. Sheng & J. Meng. 2014. Three new Jurassic euharamiyidan species reinforce early divergence of mammals. Nature 514: 579–584.
[CGW04] Case, J. A., F. J. Goin & M. O. Woodbourne. 2004. “South American” marsupials from the Late Cretaceous of North America and the origin of marsupial cohorts. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 11 (3–4): 223–255.
[FN03] Fox, R. C., & B. G. Naylor. 2003. A Late Cretaceous taeniodont (Eutheria, Mammalia) from Alberta, Canada. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie—Abhandlungen 229 (3): 393–420.
[GH99] Gheerbrant, E., & J.-L. Hartenberger. 1999. Nouveau mammifère insectivore (?Lipotyphla, ?Erinaceomorpha) de l’Eocène inférieur de Chambi (Tunisie). Paläontologische Zeitschrift 73 (1–2): 143–156.
[G03] Gordon, C. L. 2003. A first look of estimating body size in dentally conservative marsupials. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 10 (1–2): 1–21.
[KA82] Kirsch, J. A. W., & M. Archer. 1982. Polythetic cladistics, or, when parsimony’s not enough: the relationships of carnivorous marsupials. In: Archer, M. (ed.) Carnivorous Marsupials vol. 2 pp. 595–619. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.
[LJ03] Luo, Z.-X., Q. Ji, J. R. Wible & C.-X. Yuan. 2003. An Early Cretaceous tribosphenic mammal and metatherian evolution. Science 302: 1934–1940.
[OB13] O’Leary, M. A., J. I. Bloch, J. J. Flynn, T. J. Gaudin, A. Giallombardo, N. P. Giannini, S. L. Goldberg, B. P. Kraatz, Z.-X. Luo, J. Meng, X. Ni, M. J. Novacek, F. A. Perini, Z. S. Randall, G. W. Rougier, E. J. Sargis, M. T. Silcox, N. B. Simmons, M. Spaulding, P. M. Velazco, M. Weksler, J. R. Wible & A. L. Cirranello. 2013. The placental mammal ancestor and the post-K–Pg radiation of placentals. Science 339: 662–667.
[RWN98] Rougier, G. W., J. R. Wible & M. J. Novacek. 1998. Implications of Deltatheridium specimens for early marsupial history. Nature 396: 459–463.
[S35] Simpson, G. G. 1935. The Tiffany fauna, Upper Paleocene. I.—Multituberculata, Marsupialia, Insectivora, and ?Chiroptera. American Museum Novitates 795: 1–19.
[S96] Storer, J. E. 1996. Eocene-Oligocene faunas of the Cypress Hills Formation, Saskatchewan. In: Prothero, D. R., & R. J. Emry (eds) The Terrestrial Eocene–Oligocene Transition in North America pp. 240–261. Cambridge University Press.
[SM93] Stucky, R. K., & M. C. McKenna. 1993. Mammalia. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 739–771. Chapman & Hall: London.
[SK20] Sulej, T., G. Krzesiński, M. Tałanda, A. S. Wolniewicz, B. Błażejowski, N. Bonde, P. Gutowski, M. Sienkiewicz & G. Niedźwiedzki. 2020. The earliest-known mammaliaform fossil from Greenland sheds light on origin of mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 117 (43): 26861–26867.
[SBL05] Sullivan, R. M., A. C. Boere & S. G Lucas. 2005. Redescription of the ceratopsid dinosaur Torosaurus utahensis (Gilmore, 1946) and a revision of the genus. Journal of Paleontology 79 (3): 564–582.
[TPG96] Tabrum, A. R., D. R. Prothero & D. Garcia. 1996. Magnetostratigraphy and biostratigraphy of the Eocene-Oligocene transition, southwestern Montana. In: Prothero, D. R., & R. J. Emry (eds) The Terrestrial Eocene–Oligocene Transition in North America pp. 278–311. Cambridge University Press.
[VG09] Vullo, R., E. Gheerbrant, C. De Muizon & D. Néraudeau. 2009. The oldest modern therian mammal from Europe and its bearing on stem marsupial paleobiogeography. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 106 (47): 19910–19915.
[W96] Walsh, S. L. 1996. S. Middle Eocene mammal faunas of San Diego County, California. In: Prothero, D. R., & R. J. Emry (eds) The Terrestrial Eocene–Oligocene Transition in North America pp. 75–119. Cambridge University Press.