Necrolestes
Encyclopedia
Necrolestes patagonensis ("Grave Robber" or "Thief of the Dead" + Patagonia
) is an extinct mammal
, possibly a marsupial
, that lived in the early Miocene
of South America
.
About one-third of the animal's skeleton - including most of the skull - has been found as disassociated bones of several individuals. The jaw bends up at the tip, possibly supporting a fleshy appendage similar to the sensitive tentacles of the star-nosed mole
. Necrolestes is also sometimes reconstructed as a mole
-like creature. It probably fed on insect
s or worm
s.
Its classification is not firmly resolved due to it being highly apomorphic and having an anatomy
unlike any other known mammal, living or extinct. It possibly belongs to the marsupial lineage (Metatheria
). On the other hand, the possibility that it is an eutheria
n cannot be ruled out based on the currently available data, given as how, even as an island, South America had extensive lineages of both marsupial and placental mammals. A second species, N. mirabilis has now been described.
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
) is an extinct mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
, possibly a marsupial
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
, that lived in the early Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.
About one-third of the animal's skeleton - including most of the skull - has been found as disassociated bones of several individuals. The jaw bends up at the tip, possibly supporting a fleshy appendage similar to the sensitive tentacles of the star-nosed mole
Star-nosed mole
The star-nosed mole is a small mole found in wet low areas of eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States, with records extending along the Atlantic coast as far as extreme southeastern Georgia...
. Necrolestes is also sometimes reconstructed as a mole
Mole (animal)
Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...
-like creature. It probably fed on insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s or worm
Worm
The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s.
Its classification is not firmly resolved due to it being highly apomorphic and having an anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
unlike any other known mammal, living or extinct. It possibly belongs to the marsupial lineage (Metatheria
Metatheria
Metatheria is a grouping within the animal class Mammalia. First proposed by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1880, it is nearly synonymous with the earlier taxon Marsupialia though it is slightly wider since it also contains the nearest fossil relatives of marsupial mammals.The earliest known...
). On the other hand, the possibility that it is an eutheria
Eutheria
Eutheria is a group of mammals consisting of placental mammals plus all extinct mammals that are more closely related to living placentals than to living marsupials . They are distinguished from noneutherians by various features of the feet, ankles, jaws and teeth...
n cannot be ruled out based on the currently available data, given as how, even as an island, South America had extensive lineages of both marsupial and placental mammals. A second species, N. mirabilis has now been described.