Vintana sertichi - UA 9972
Project
ID: 00000C133
Public
Vintana sertichi (UA 9972) represents the first reported skull material of a gondwanatherian, a complete and well-preserved cranium from Upper Cretaceous strata in Madagascar. Its craniofacial anatomy reveals that it was herbivorous, large-eyed and agile, with well-developed high-frequency hearing and a keen sense of smell. The cranium exhibits a mosaic of primitive and derived features, the disparity of which is extreme and probably reflective of a long evolutionary history in geographic isolation.
DESCRIPTION
Vintana sertichi (UA 9972) represents the first reported skull material of a gondwanatherian, a complete and well-preserved cranium from Upper Cretaceous strata in Madagascar. Its craniofacial anatomy reveals that it was herbivorous, large-eyed and agile, with well-developed high-frequency hearing and a keen sense of smell. The cranium exhibits a mosaic of primitive and derived features, the disparity of which is extreme and probably reflective of a long evolutionary history in geographic isolation.