Shuotherium
| Shuotherium Temporal range: Middle Jurassic-Late Jurassic | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | Cynodontia |
| Clade: | Mammaliaformes |
| Family: | †Shuotheriidae |
| Genus: | †Shuotherium Chow & Rich, 1982 |
| Type species | |
| †Shuotherium dongi | |
| Species | |
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Shuotherium is a fossil mammaliaform known from Middle-Late Jurassic of the Forest Marble Formation of England, and the Shaximiao Formation of Sichuan, China.
The original holotype is composed of a partial dentary and seven teeth (two which are incomplete). The holotypes for other species of this genus are solely represented by isolated molars. Shuotherium, along with Pseudotribos has been placed in the family Shuotheriidae as a sister taxon of the Australosphenida (see, Yinotheria), making it a relative of modern monotremes. However, some studies place it and other shuothereres as closer to therian mammals, and another outside of Mammalia altogether.