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Zhelestidae Temporal range: 99.6–70.6 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Cretaceous
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Clade:	Eutheria
Family:	†Zhelestidae Nessov (1985)
Genera
?Labes ?Alostera Aspanlestes Avitotherium ?Azilestes Borisodon Eoungulatum Eozhelestes Gallolestes ?Khuduklestes ?Mistralestes ?Oxlestes ?Paranyctoides Parazhelestes Sheikhdzheilia Sorlestes Zhalmousia Zhelestes Lainodontinae Labes Lainodon ?Valentinella

Zhelestidae is a lineage of extinct eutherian mammals. Occurring in the Late Cretaceous from the Turonian to the Maastrichtian, they were an extremely successful group, with representatives present in Europe, Asia, India (and subsequently in Madagascar), Africa and North America, ostensibly rendering them a cosmopolitan clade. They were specialised towards an herbivorous lifestyle and were in fact initially considered stem-ungulates, but the presence of epipubics and "archaic" dental characters render them as non-placental eutherians.

Range

The earliest zhelestid remains occur in the Cenomanian of Central Asia. By the Campanian, however, they are present in Europe and North America, and by the Maastrichtian in India and in Madagascar (UA 8699). In Europe, then an island continent, taxa usually accepted to be zhelestids are the most common Late Cretaceous mammal remains, aside from Hateg Island where kogaionid multituberculates are more common instead, though there is a single possible zhelestid tooth there as well.

Ecology

Zhelestids are well specialised towards an herbivorous diet, their teeth suited for a lateral chewing mechanism similar to that of modern ungulates. An exception to this might be forms like Oxlestes and Khuduklestes, which are normally interpreted as carnivorous, and perhaps a few forms like Borisodon which may have been insectivorous. Ranging from mouse sized forms to ones comparable to small ungulates in size, zhelestids occupied a massive variety of ecological guilds.

In contrast to their dietary divergence, the few available limb remains suggest that they weren't very specialised locomotion wise, in contrast to some other basal eutherians like for instance Zalambdalestes, which was long-limbed and had several adaptations for cursoriality and hopping.

There is evidence that zhelestids were in direct competition with another clade of Mesozoic herbivorous mammals, the multituberculates, being rarer in places where these were most common and vice versa. However, multituberculates eventually outlived zhelestids, surviving the K-Pg extinction event everywhere but Asia, where the niches taken by both clades in the Cretaceous would be taken by early rodents.

Phylogeny

Below is a phylogeny from Gheerbrant & Teodori (2021):

References

1. "Zhelestidae". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
2. L. A. Nessov, J. D. Archibald, and Z. Kielan-Jaworowska. 1998. Ungulate-like mammals from the Late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan and a phylogenetic analysis of Ungulatomorpha. Bulletin of Carnegie Museum of Natural History 34:40-88
3. J. R. Wible, G. W. Rougier, M. J. Novacek and R. J. Asher. 2007. Cretaceous eutherians and Laurasian origin for placental mammals near the K/T boundary. Nature 447:1003-1006
4. J. DAVID ARCHIBALD and ALEXANDER AVERIANOV, Phylogenetic analysis, taxonomic revision, and dental ontogeny of the Cretaceous Zhelestidae (Mammalia: Eutheria), Version of Record online: 25 JAN 2012 DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00771.x
5. Kenneth D. Rose, J. David Archibald, The Rise of Placental Mammals: Origins and Relationships of the Major Extant Clades, JHU Press, 22/02/2005
6. Rodolphe Tabuce, Thierry Tortosa, Monique Vianey-Liaud, Géraldine Garcia, Renaud Lebrun, Pascal Godefroit, Yves Dutour, Sévérine Berton, Xavier Valentin and Gilles Cheylan (2013). «New eutherian mammals from the Late Cretaceous of Aix-en-Provence Basin, south-eastern France». Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 169 (3): 653-672. doi:10.1111/zoj.12074.
7. Averianov, A.O. and Archibald, J.D. 2013. New material and reinterpretation of the Late Cretaceous eutherian mammal Paranyctoides from Uzbekistan. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 58 (1): 17–23. https://dx.doi.org/10.4202/app.2011.0131
8. ^ Gheerbrant E. & Teodori D. 2021. — An enigmatic specialized new eutherian mammal from the Late Cretaceous of Western Europe (Northern Pyrenees), in Folie A., Buffetaut E., Bardet N., Houssaye A., Gheerbrant E. & Laurin M. (eds), Palaeobiology and palaeobiogeography of amphibians and reptiles: An homage to Jean-Claude Rage. Comptes Rendus Palevol 20 (13): 207-223. https://doi.org/10.5852/cr-palevol2021v20a13
9. Rodolphe Tabuce Thierry Tortosa Monique Vianey‐Liaud Géraldine Garcia Renaud Lebrun Pascal Godefroit Yves Dutour Sévérine Berton Xavier Valentin Gilles Cheylan, New eutherian mammals from the Late Cretaceous of Aix‐en‐Provence Basin, south‐eastern France, 29 October 2013 https://doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12074
10. Guillermo W. Rougier; Amir S. Sheth; Barton K. Spurlin; Minjin Bolortsetseg; Michael J. Novacek (2016). "Craniodental anatomy of a new Late Cretaceous multituberculate mammal from Udan Sayr, Mongolia" (PDF). Palaeontologia Polonica. 67: 197–248. doi:10.4202/pp.2016.67_197.
11. Wood, D. Joseph (2010). The Extinction of the Multituberculates Outside North America: a Global Approach to Testing the Competition Model (M.S.). The Ohio State University.

v t e Eutheria
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Subclass: Theria Synapsida see Synapsida Cynodontia see Cynodontia Mammalia see Mammalia Eutheria see below↓ Eutheria
Eutheria †Acristatherium? †Ambolestes? †Bayshinoryctes †Bobolestes? †Cokotherium? †Durlstodon †Durlstotherium †Endotherium †Eomaia? †Hovurlestes †Hyotheridium? †Indoclemensia †Juramaia? †Microtherulum? †Montanalestes? †Murtoilestes? †Prokennalestes? †Sinodelphys? †Adapisoriculidae Adapisoriculus Afrodon Bustylus Deccanolestes? Garatherium Namibiodon Remiculus? Sahnitherium? Wyonycteris? †Asioryctitheria Asioryctes Bulaklestes Daulestes Kennalestes Sasayamamylos Uchkudukodon Ukhaatherium †Cimolestidae Aboletylestes Acmeodon Alveugena Ambilestes Avunculus Bagalestes Batodon? Betonnia Chacopterygus Cimolestes Didelphodus Gelastops Ilerdoryctes Maelestes? Naranius Paleotomus Pararyctes Procerberus Protentomodon Puercolestes Scollardius Tsaganius †Didymoconidae Archaeoryctes Ardynictis Didymoconus Hunanictis Kennatherium Zeuctherium †Horolodectidae Ferrequitherium Horolodectes †Leptictida Gypsonictopidae Gypsonictops Sikuomys Pseudorhyncocyonidae Diaphyodectes Leptictidium Phakodon Pseudorhyncocyon Leptictidae Amphigyion Blacktops Gallolestes Ictopidium Labes Lainodon Leptictis Leptonysson Megaleptictis Myrmecoboides Ongghonia Palaeictops Praolestes Prodiacodon Protictops Wania †Palaeoryctidae Aaptoryctes Aceroryctes Eoryctes Lainoryctes Nuryctes Ottoryctes Palaeoryctes Pinoryctes †Pantolesta Paroxyclaenidae Dulcidon Euhookeria Fratrodon Kiinkerishella Kopidodon Merialus Paraspaniella Paroxyclaenus Pugiodens Sororodon Spaniella Vulpavoides Pantolestidae Amaramnis Aphronorus Bessoecetor Bisonalveus Bogdia Bouffinomus Buxolestes Chadronia Coriphagus Cryptopithecus Dyspterna Galethylax Gobipithecus Kochictis Oboia Pagonomus Palaeosinopa Pantolestes Pentacodon Thelysia Todralestes †Taeniodonta Schowalteria Conoryctidae Conoryctella Conoryctes Huerfanodon Onychodectidae Onychodectes Stylinodontidae Ectoganus Psittacotherium Stylinodon Wortmania †Tillodontia Adapidium Azygonyx Basalina Benaius Chungchienia Dysnoetodon Esthonyx Franchaius Higotherium Interogale Kuanchuanius Lofochaius Megalesthonyx Meiostylodon Plesiesthonyx Plethorodon Simplodon Tillodon Trogosus Yuesthonyx †Zalambdalestidae Alymlestes Anchilestes Barunlestes Beleutinus Kulbeckia Prozalambdalestes Zalambdalestes Zhangolestes Zofialestes †Zhelestidae Alostera? Aspanlestes Avitotherium Azilestes? Borisodon Eoungulatum Eozhelestes Gallolestes Kharmerungulatum Khuduklestes? Lainodon Mistralestes? Oxlestes? Paranyctoides? Parazhelestes Sheikhdzheilia Sorlestes Valentinella? Zhalmousia Zhelestes †Pantodonta see Pantodonta Placentalia Afrotheria Boreoeutheria Xenarthra

• Zhelestidae
• Prehistoric eutherians
• Maastrichtian extinctions
• Turonian first appearances
• Prehistoric mammal families