Hondadelphys

Hondadelphys
Temporal range: Mid-Miocene (Laventan)
~13.8–11.8 Ma
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Basicranium of Hondadelphys
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Sparassodonta
Family: †Hondadelphidae
Marshall et al., 1990
Genus: †Hondadelphys
Marshall, 1976
Type species
Hondadelphys fieldsi
Marshall, 1976

Hondadelphys is an extinct genus of carnivorous sparassodonts, known from the Middle Miocene of Colombia. The type species, H. fieldsi, was described in 1976 from the fossil locality of La Venta, which hosts fossils from the Villavieja Formation.[1] Hondadelphys was originally interpreted as belonging to the opossum family Didelphidae, but subsequently assigned to its own family, Hondadelphidae and interpreted as a basal sparassodont.[2] The genus name refers to the Honda Group, the stratigraphic group in which the fossils of this animal were first found, combined with delphys (Greek for "womb", a common suffix used for opossum-like metatherians).[1]

  1. ^ a b Marshall, Larry G. (1976). "New Didelphine Marsupials from the La Venta Fauna (Miocene) of Colombia, South America". Journal of Paleontology. 50 (3): 402–418. JSTOR 1303521.
  2. ^ Goin, Francisco (2003). "Early Marsupial Radiations in South America". In Jones, Menna; Archer, Mike; Dickman, Chris (eds.). Predators with Pouches : The Biology of Carnivorous Marsupials. Collingwood (Victoria): CSIRO. ISBN 978-0643066342.