Gondwanatherians were the earliest mammals to develop hypsodont cheek-teeth with thick cementum, already by the Late Cretaceous. Hypsodonty occurred independently in Gondwanatheria and Theria; however, very similar biomechanical strategies are observed. The hypsodont molariform cheek-teeth of the early Paleocene Sudamerica ameghinoi, the youngest member of the Gondwanatheria, are described. Sudamerica had in the lower jaw a continuously growing incisor and, separated by a large diastema, four cheek-teeth which cannot be homologized with premolars or molars, therefore they are regarded as molariforms. The analysis of one fragmentary mandible and 30 isolated molariforms led to the recognition of 8 different morphological categories among them, corresponding to four upper and four lower molariforms. The height of the teeth indicates a relatively high shape of the skull. The molariforms are characterized by transverse lophs; when only slightly worn, they show central enamel islets in the anterior/posterior caps and in the transverse valleys. When the first quarter of the tooth is worn down, these islets disappear and the synclines expand leaving only a narrow central longitudinal ridge. The enamel of the molariforms of Sudamerica is one-layered and formed by radial enamel; it resembles the enamel of Gondwanatherium. Compared to the enamel of the Gondwanatheria from Madagascar and India, the South American gondwanatherians are distinctly less derived. In turn, the incisor enamel is less derived in Sudamerica, although younger, than in Gondwanatherium; both show a combination of radial and tangential enamel. The evolution of hypsodonty in gondwanatherians during the Late Cretaceous and early Paleocene cannot be correlated with a grass diet, since grasses were not present during that time. Various lines of evidence including the dental morphology and the inferred habitat for Sudamerica ameghinoi, suggest semiaquatic and perhaps a burrowing way of life, similar to that of living beavers.
'Ordered' and 'unordered chevron structures' in serpulid tubes comprise minute calcite lath-like crystals. In ordered chevron structure (Pomatoceros triqueter) the crystals parallel each other within each chevron layer, whilst between layers the alignment direction alternates. The laths have no alignment in unordered chevron structure (Spirorbis and locally in Pomatoceros triqueter). In 'homogeneous chevron structure' (found in Jurassic pomatocerids) the layers comprise a granular or homogeneous fabric. This structure possibly represents a diagenetic replacement of lath-like crystals. Serpulid chevron structures are quite dissimilar from any shell microstructures described in molluscs or lophophorates. The secretion of microstructures comprising lath-like crystals may have allowed rapid tube growth. Spherulitic prismatic structure is identified in Spirorbis; the structure occurs locally in the outer part of the tube. The microstructure of Recent spirorbids is quite dissimilar to that of Palaeozoic fossils (microconchids) previously assigned to the genus Spirorbis.
The ear ossicles, preserved in skulls of a tiny Late Cretaceous multituberculate Chulsanbaatar vulgaris from Mongolia are arranged as in modern mammals. This makes the idea of an independent origin of the multituberculates from other mammals unlikely. We report the finding of ear ossicles in Mesozoic multituberculates. Three almost complete incudes and two fragments of malleus are described and compared with those reported in the Paleocene Lambdopsalis and in non-multituberculate mammals. In these Late Cretaceous multituberculates lateral expansion of the braincase is associated with the presence of sinuses and development of extensive masticatory musculature, but not by the expansion of the vestibule, which is moderately developed. It is argued that because of the lateral expansion of the multituberculate braincase, the promontorium is arranged slightly more obliquely with respect to the sagittal plane than in other mammals and the fenestra vestibuli faces anterolaterally, rather than laterally. This results in a corresponding alteration in orientation of the stapes. The epitympanic recess is situated more anteriorly with respect to the fenestra vestibuli than in other mammals. The recess is deep, and the incus must therefore be oriented somewhat vertically. The incus is roughly A-shaped, with crus breve subparallel to the axis of vibration of the malleus. This axis, approximately connecting the anterior process of the malleus and the crus breve of the incus, lies at 45-55º to the sagittal plane in Chulsanbaatar. Probably most multituberculates were similar in this respect. The fragments of the malleus show a very long anterior process, which agrees with the reconstruction of the malleus in Lambdopsalis by Meng & Wyss (1995), and with the partial malleus of Kyptobaatar, described by Rougier et al. (in press)
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