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Sinoconodon babies mystery
Topic Started: Jun 1 2017, 01:22 PM (504 Views)
heliosphoros
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So Sinoconodon, like most non-placental Mammaliaformes probably had epipubic bones:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epipubic_bone

which restrict abdominal expansion and forced the babies to be fetus like (i.e. marsupial joeys and monotreme puggles).

Yet, Sinoconodon apparently secondarily lost milk, meaning that it probably didn't have altricial young.

So, we have a bit of a conundrum...
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Acinonyx Jubatus
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I AM THE UNSHRINKWRAPPER!

As I understand it, the evidence for loss of milk comes from a poorly ossified jaw and fully functional teeth at the​ tip of the jaw in the smallest known specimen. How big is this specimen? Are even smaller life stages possible? Maybe it did suckle briefly.
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Fireplume
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Snok Snok Snerson

How do we know it didn't just leak milk like an echidna and the babies lapped it up?
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Incinerox
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Āeksiot Zaldrīzoti

Fireplume
Jun 1 2017, 07:59 PM
How do we know it didn't just leak milk like an echidna and the babies lapped it up?
I'm rolling with this answer.
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heliosphoros
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Maybe, but note that toothed monotremes are still diphyodont. Echidnas themselves suckle the milk glands, they don't actually lap.
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Fireplume
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Snok Snok Snerson

Meh it isn't impossible though especially in an early mammaliform, that's likely how lactation worked at first anyway.
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Jannick
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Papua merdeka!

IIRC, Platypi do "sweat out" their milk and allow it to collect on the mother's stomach for the young to lap up.
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Incinerox
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Āeksiot Zaldrīzoti

heliosphoros
Jun 2 2017, 12:29 PM
Maybe, but note that toothed monotremes are still diphyodont. Echidnas themselves suckle the milk glands, they don't actually lap.
Doesn't mean that Sinoconodon had to play by monotreme rules exactly.
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