Prionessus Explained

Prionessus is a genus of extinct mammal from the Paleocene of what is now Central Asia. It was a member of the extinct order Multituberculata within the suborder Cimolodonta and superfamily Taeniolabidoidea. The genus was named by William Diller Matthew and Walter Granger in 1925, and is based on a single species P.lucifer.^[1]

Kielan-Jarowoska and Hurum believe that members of the Taeniolabidoidea, such as Prionessus, are all quite similar. For example, they all share a short wide snout and a blocky head ^[2] so it is probably instructive to look at a close and more commonly occurring relative, Lambdopsalis bulla, a likely burrower.^{[3] [4]} Matthew and Granger noted in their discovery that P.lucifer had a robust lower incisor, supportive of this similarity.^[5]

Fossil remains have been found in the Late Paleocene Nomogen and Khashat Formations of Gashato, Naran and Nomogen in Bayan Ulan of Mongolia and China.Prionessus fossils range from 59-55 million years ago, through the Thanetian age of the late Paleocene. They were estimated to have had a body mass of about 370g.^[6]

References

• Web site: Dykes . Trevor . Mesozoic Mammals;Eucosmodontidae, Microcosmodontidae and Taeniolabidoidea, an internet directory . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120716204423/http://home.arcor.de/ktdykes/taenio.htm . 16 July 2012 .
• Kielan-Jaworowska . Zofia . Hurum. J.H.. Phylogeny and Systematics of Multituberculate Mammals . 2001. Palaeontology . 44 . 3. 389–429. 10.1111/1475-4983.00185.
• Zofia. Kielan-Jaworowska. Tao . Qi. Fossorial adaptations of a Taeniolabidoid Multituberculate mammal from the Eocene of China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica . 1990. 28. 2. 83–94.
• Kielan-Jaworowska . Kielan . Sloan . Robert E.. Catopsalis (Multituberculata) from Asia and North America and the problem of taeniolabidid dispersal in the Late Cretaceous. 1979. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica . 24. 2. 187–197.
• Matthew . W.D. . Granger . W.. Fauna and Correlation of the Gashato Formation of Mongolia. 1925. American Museum Novitates. 189. American Museum of Natural History, New York. 1–12.
• Wilson . Gregory P. . Evans . Alistair R.. Corfe. Ian J.. Smits. Peter D.. Fortelius. Mikael. Jernvall. Jukka. Adaptive radiation of multituberculate mammals before the extinction of dinosaurs. 2012. Nature. 483. 7390 . 457–460. 10.1038/nature10880. 22419156 . 4419772 .

Notes and References

1. Matthew and Granger 1925 pp 6-7
2. Kielan-Jarowoska and Hurum, 2001, pg 418-419
3. Kielan-Jarowoska and Sloan, 1979, pg 195
4. Kielan-Jarowoska and Qi, 1990, pp 91-92
5. Matthew and Granger 1925, pp 6-7
6. Wilson et al 2012, Supplemental Tables 3 and 5