Episode 1094
Catopsbaatar
Sun, 2020-May-03 01:15 UTC
Length - 3:35
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.
The featured article for Sunday, 3 May 2020 is Catopsbaatar.
Catopsbaatar is a genus of multituberculate, an extinct order of rodent-like mammals. It lived in what is now Mongolia during the late Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 72 million years ago. The first fossils were collected in the early 1970s, and the animal was named as a new species of the genus Djadochtatherium in 1974, D. catopsaloides. The specific name refers to the animal's similarity to the genus Catopsalis. The species was moved to the genus Catopsalis in 1979, and received its own genus (Catopsbaatar, Greek and Mongolian for 'visible hero') in 1994. Five skulls, one molar, and one skeleton with a skull are known; the latter is the genus' most complete specimen. Catopsbaatar was a member of the family Djadochtatheriidae.
The skull of Catopsbaatar was up to 70 mm (2.8 in) long and, as in other multituberculates, proportionally large. The external appearance of their heads may have been similar to those of rodents. The skull was heavy-set and wide, with the zygomatic arches strongly expanded to the sides. The eye sockets were smaller and placed further back than in its relatives, and the snout was more elongated. Catopsbaatar had semicircular ridges on the side of the skull, to which the jaw muscles were attached. The mandible was strong and very elongated. It had very robust incisors, and cheek teeth with multiple cusps (for which multituberculates are named). The pelvic bones differed from those of other multituberculates in that they were not fused to each other. Catopsbaatar had spurs on its ankles, like those of the male platypus and echidna, without evidence of a venom canal (present in the former).
The spurs of Catopsbaatar and other Mesozoic mammals may have been used for protection against theropod dinosaurs and other predators. Multituberculates are thought to have given live birth, and the fact that they had hair indicates they were homeothermic ("warmblooded"). Multituberculates would have been omnivorous; Catopsbaatar had powerful jaw muscles, and its incisors were well adapted for gnawing hard seeds, using a backwards chewing stroke. Multituberculates are thought to have had a sprawling posture, and Catopsbaatar may have been able to jump. Catopsbaatar is known from the Red Beds of Hermiin Tsav and the Barun Goyot Formation in Mongolia, which are thought to be the same geologic age (about 72 million years old).
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:15 UTC on Sunday, 3 May 2020.
For the full current version of the article, see Catopsbaatar on Wikipedia.
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This has been Joey. Thank you for listening to featured Wiki of the Day.
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