Adalatherium

Adalatherium (Adàla, 'crazy' in Malagasy and therium, 'beast' in Greek) is an extinct gondwanatherian that lived in Madagascar during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous. The discovery of the first nearly-complete skeleton from the Maevarano Formation was announced in April 2020.^[1]

Adalatherium Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) 70–66 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Restoration of the skull in lateral view
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Clade:	†Gondwanatheria
Family:	†Adalatheriidae Krause et al, 2020
Genus:	†Adalatherium Krause et al, 2020
Species:	†A. hui
Binomial name
†Adalatherium hui Krause et al, 2020

Description

Although the only known fossil is believed to be from a subadult individual, it had a large skull reaching 8.4 centimetres (3.3 in) long. Its body length was about 52 centimetres (20 in)^[2] and the body mass is estimated between 1.775–5.218 kilograms (3.91–11.50 lb), making it one the largest known Mesozoic mammals.^[1] It is depicted in reconstructions as being built somewhat like a badger. Its skeleton is the most complete of any Gondwanan Mesozoic mammal. Additionally, the front of the skull contains more foramina than any known mammal except Vincelestes.^[3]