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THE AFFINITIES OF PLAGIAULAX (MULTITUBERCULATA)
Author(s) -
RIDE W. D. L.
Publication year - 1957
Publication title -
proceedings of the zoological society of london
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0370-2774
DOI - 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1957.tb00333.x
Subject(s) - affinities , mandible (arthropod mouthpart) , holotype , biology , anatomy , zoology , genus , biochemistry
SUMMARY1 After examination of the Plagiaulax mandible 47728, Friant concluded that the structure of the masseteric fossa indicates that Plagiaulax is a diprotodont marsupial (phalangeroid). 2 The holotype of P. becklesii , a right mandibular ramus, has been prepared by the acetic‐acid technique so that the posterior half is free from matrix. Its structure is compared with that of mandible 47728. 3 It is shown that the structures which, in mandible 47728, were interpreted by Friant as indicating particular marsupial affinities are all the result of post‐mortem crushing and that there is no evidence whatever of such affinities. 4 Further preparation has revealed that the mandible of P. becklesii possesses a wide masseteric shelf which is apparently similar to those found in Taeniolabis and some Ptilodontidae.