Megacauda, new large swimming docodont mammaliaform from Middle Jurassic of China
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Ben Creisler
Oct 7, 2026, 11:42:46 AM (2 days ago) Oct 7
to DinosaurMa...@googlegroups.com
Ben Creisler
Megacauda sungei gen. et sp. nov.
Y. Li, P. Li, A. I. Neander, H. Zhang, C.-F. Zhou, T. Martin & Z.-X. Luo (2026)
A Jurassic mammaliaform swimmer and transformation of the mammalian pharynx
Nature (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11107-0
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-11107-0
The discovery of a well-preserved mammaliaform fossil from the Middle Jurassic period of China reveals evidence on the evolutionary transformation of the feeding apparatus and the ecological diversity of Mesozoic era mammals. Mammaliaforms are evolutionary predecessors to modern Mammalia, and their morphologies provide primary insights into the evolutionary origin of mammals. The rare preservation of a therian-like pharyngeal vault (throat passage) and hyoid skeletal anatomy (throat bones) in this mammaliaform suggests that critical soft-tissue anatomy for therian-like swallowing, drinking and suckling behaviours had evolved in the common ancestors of Docodonta and Mammalia, long before the rise of modern mammals. This fossil exhibits a wealth of features specialized for swimming, filling in a major gap of anatomical knowledge of pelvis and hindlimb for early mammals. It is characterized by highly distinctive canines and pseudo-carnassial sectorial teeth for a faunivorous diet. We interpret that this mammaliaform was semiaquatic, swimming and foraging in water, with a lifestyle analogous to the extant platypus. This species is the largest of Jurassic mammaliaforms. It expands the body size range of docodontans, and adds to a growing body of evidence that multiple docodontans exploited diverse niches with semiaquatic and other ecomorphotypes. Docodontans are an early example of replicated evolution of the semiaquatic and other ecomorphotypes in the Mesozoic ecosystem dominated by dinosaurs, long before the diversification of extant mammals.
News:
An early predecessor to mammals could swim, suckle and swallow
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-03069-0
**
Was this odd animal the world's first milk suckler?
https://www.science.org/content/article/was-odd-animal-world-s-first-milk-suckler
Also:
https://idw-online.de/en/news878615
https://phys.org/news/2026-10-predator-jurassic-meter.html
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2592252-stunning-early-mammal-fossil-sheds-light-on-the-evolution-of-suckling/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2026-10-08/fossil-of-platypus-like-mammal-relative-found-in-china/107234186
A new paper:
Megacauda sungei gen. et sp. nov.
Y. Li, P. Li, A. I. Neander, H. Zhang, C.-F. Zhou, T. Martin & Z.-X. Luo (2026)
A Jurassic mammaliaform swimmer and transformation of the mammalian pharynx
Nature (advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11107-0
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-11107-0
The discovery of a well-preserved mammaliaform fossil from the Middle Jurassic period of China reveals evidence on the evolutionary transformation of the feeding apparatus and the ecological diversity of Mesozoic era mammals. Mammaliaforms are evolutionary predecessors to modern Mammalia, and their morphologies provide primary insights into the evolutionary origin of mammals. The rare preservation of a therian-like pharyngeal vault (throat passage) and hyoid skeletal anatomy (throat bones) in this mammaliaform suggests that critical soft-tissue anatomy for therian-like swallowing, drinking and suckling behaviours had evolved in the common ancestors of Docodonta and Mammalia, long before the rise of modern mammals. This fossil exhibits a wealth of features specialized for swimming, filling in a major gap of anatomical knowledge of pelvis and hindlimb for early mammals. It is characterized by highly distinctive canines and pseudo-carnassial sectorial teeth for a faunivorous diet. We interpret that this mammaliaform was semiaquatic, swimming and foraging in water, with a lifestyle analogous to the extant platypus. This species is the largest of Jurassic mammaliaforms. It expands the body size range of docodontans, and adds to a growing body of evidence that multiple docodontans exploited diverse niches with semiaquatic and other ecomorphotypes. Docodontans are an early example of replicated evolution of the semiaquatic and other ecomorphotypes in the Mesozoic ecosystem dominated by dinosaurs, long before the diversification of extant mammals.
****
News:
An early predecessor to mammals could swim, suckle and swallow
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-03069-0
**
Was this odd animal the world's first milk suckler?
https://www.science.org/content/article/was-odd-animal-world-s-first-milk-suckler
Also:
https://idw-online.de/en/news878615
https://phys.org/news/2026-10-predator-jurassic-meter.html
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2592252-stunning-early-mammal-fossil-sheds-light-on-the-evolution-of-suckling/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2026-10-08/fossil-of-platypus-like-mammal-relative-found-in-china/107234186
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