Top Tweets for #Megacauda

about 14 hours ago

Please like my new #YouTube #video about the new #prehistoric #species #Megacauda #sungei: https://t.co/i7ik2g71fR #Mammals evolved from reptilian-like #ancestors. The monophyletic group that includes true mammals (crown group) and their mammal-like ancestors is known as the #Mammaliaformes. Early traits that emerged as apomorphies (newly evolved characteristics) at different positions in the phylogenetic tree within the mammaliform ancestor line towards Mammalia include #fur, #endothermy (warm-bloodedness), the consumption of mother’s #milk (licking milk like secretions), the beginnings of a heterodont (differentiated) #dentition and the possession of a #secondaryjaw joint. All members of non-Eutheria Mammaliaformes were #egglaying #amniotes. Their young hatched from the #eggs at an early stage, subsequently continued their development under the protection of their mother. Advantage: the eggs required fewer energy reserves and could be smaller. Young were nourished with maternal milk after #hatching. Evolutionarily, this milk is derived from secretions of sweat and sebaceous glands, which originally served to moisten the eggshell and provide it with antimicrobial protection. The ancestral condition involved the young lapping milk along the fur on the mother’s abdomen. In the #Daohugou #Formation of what is now Inner #Mongolia (northern China), Y. Li et al. (2026) discovered a well-preserved #fossil of a mammaliform belonging to the taxon #Docodonta. They described this animal, which measured approximately 50 cm in length, as a new species, Megacauda sungei. It lived about 165 million years ago in a #semiaquatic environment characterized by a network of vast, calm inland lakes (lacustrine systems), rivers, and volcanic landscapes. M. sungei possessed a stocky body, large, likely webbed feet, a notably large and #dorsoventrally #flattened #tail, and conspicuously enlarged #canineteeth. The species was a small predator. Furthermore, another complex of anatomical features was well-preserved in the fossil: the #swallowing apparatus. The pharynx included a #hyoid #apparatus (comprising hyoid and laryngeal bones), which allowed for the separation of breathing and swallowing, enabling the precise control of food within the #pharyngealcavity. This facilitated the safe, efficient ingestion of food and the milk secretions that young animals licked from their mother, and the same time enabled the act of #suckling. The authors conclude that the last common #stemspecies of the Docodonta and Mammalia lineages must have possessed these specialized swallowing adaptations. According to some research papers, I found indications for specific common features in the Docodonta and Hadrocodium regarding mandibular and teeth morphology (e.g. Zhe-Xi Luo et al., 2022), which I interpreted as common apomorphies. Docodonta thus might be the sister group to Hadrocodium, but it is the traditionally reconstructed situation with Docodonta as sister group to the clade comprising Hadrocodium plus Mammalia that is preferred by the majority of scientists. General note: Due to limited availability of character informations in fossils, their phylogeny is permanently newly debated. The last common ancestor of Docodonta and Mammalia possessed this flexible pharynx, meaning that the pre-adaptations for true milk suckling from teats, which only evolved in Theria (Mammalia) had already emerged long before. © #StefanFWirth, October 2026, Berlin Please support my science communication: https://t.co/4nN4eRHB6I Reference: Y. Li et al. (2026): https://t.co/Fh4iR9fCCM Illustrations and video animations: © Stefan F. Wirth; AI-assisted visualizations based on my own hand-drawn sketches and storyboards, with illustrations and animations manually edited. 1) Artistic reconstruction of Megacauda sungei 2) M. sungei swimming 3) Phylogenetic tree of a portion of the Mammaliaformes, highlighting key plesiomorphies 4) minor part from my video: M. sungei swimming

wirthstef's tweet photo. Please like my new #YouTube #video about the new #prehistoric #species #Megacauda #sungei: https://t.co/i7ik2g71fR

#Mammals evolved from reptilian-like #ancestors. The monophyletic group that includes true mammals (crown group) and their mammal-like ancestors is known as the #Mammaliaformes. Early traits that emerged as apomorphies (newly evolved characteristics) at different positions in the phylogenetic tree within the mammaliform ancestor line towards Mammalia include #fur, #endothermy (warm-bloodedness), the consumption of mother’s #milk (licking milk like secretions), the beginnings of a heterodont (differentiated) #dentition and the possession of a #secondaryjaw joint. All members of non-Eutheria Mammaliaformes were #egglaying #amniotes.

Their young hatched from the #eggs at an early stage, subsequently continued their development under the protection of their mother. Advantage: the eggs required fewer energy reserves and could be smaller.

Young were nourished with maternal milk after #hatching. Evolutionarily, this milk is derived from secretions of sweat and sebaceous glands, which originally served to moisten the eggshell and provide it with antimicrobial protection. The ancestral condition involved the young lapping milk along the fur on the mother’s abdomen.

In the #Daohugou #Formation of what is now Inner #Mongolia (northern China), Y. Li et al. (2026) discovered a well-preserved #fossil of a mammaliform belonging to the taxon #Docodonta. They described this animal, which measured approximately 50 cm in length, as a new species, Megacauda sungei. It lived about 165 million years ago in a #semiaquatic environment characterized by a network of vast, calm inland lakes (lacustrine systems), rivers, and volcanic landscapes. M. sungei possessed a stocky body, large, likely webbed feet, a notably large and #dorsoventrally #flattened #tail, and conspicuously enlarged #canineteeth. The species was a small predator. Furthermore, another complex of anatomical features was well-preserved in the fossil: the #swallowing apparatus. The pharynx included a #hyoid #apparatus (comprising hyoid and laryngeal bones), which allowed for the separation of breathing and swallowing, enabling the precise control of food within the #pharyngealcavity. This facilitated the safe, efficient ingestion of food and the milk secretions that young animals licked from their mother, and the same time enabled the act of #suckling. The authors conclude that the last common #stemspecies of the Docodonta and Mammalia lineages must have possessed these specialized swallowing adaptations.

According to some research papers, I found indications for specific common features in the Docodonta and Hadrocodium regarding mandibular and teeth morphology (e.g. Zhe-Xi Luo et al., 2022), which I interpreted as common apomorphies. Docodonta thus might be the sister group to Hadrocodium, but it is the traditionally reconstructed situation with Docodonta as sister group to the clade comprising Hadrocodium plus Mammalia that is preferred by the majority of scientists. General note: Due to limited availability of character informations in fossils, their phylogeny is permanently newly debated.

The last common ancestor of Docodonta and Mammalia possessed this flexible pharynx, meaning that the pre-adaptations for true milk suckling from teats, which only evolved in Theria (Mammalia) had already emerged long before.

© #StefanFWirth, October 2026, Berlin

Please support my science communication: https://t.co/4nN4eRHB6I

Reference:
Y. Li et al. (2026):
https://t.co/Fh4iR9fCCM

Illustrations and video animations:
© Stefan F. Wirth; AI-assisted visualizations based on my own hand-drawn sketches and storyboards, with illustrations and animations manually edited.
1) Artistic reconstruction of Megacauda sungei
2) M. sungei swimming
3) Phylogenetic tree of a portion of the Mammaliaformes, highlighting key plesiomorphies
4) minor part from my video: M. sungei swimming

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Paléontologie @PaleontologieFr

4 days ago

Il y a ~160 Ma, #Megacauda nageait comme un ornithorynque !🦫 Cet étrange mammaliaforme 🇨🇳, le plus grand connu du #Jurassique, était adapté à la vie semi-aquatique et se nourrissait de petits animaux. #Mammaliaformes 📰https://t.co/SGvGu8fahL 🔎https://t.co/7mKROBcAHM

PaleontologieFr's tweet photo. Il y a ~160 Ma, #Megacauda nageait comme un ornithorynque !🦫
Cet étrange mammaliaforme 🇨🇳, le plus grand connu du #Jurassique, était adapté à la vie semi-aquatique et se nourrissait de petits animaux.
#Mammaliaformes

📰https://t.co/SGvGu8fahL

🔎https://t.co/7mKROBcAHM https://t.co/29zZ3sMYE8

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