Paleocene opossum with hooves: Periptychus
This hypothetical interrelationship
escaped everyone’s notice until this report. Here long-legged, hoofed Palaeocene Periptychus now nests as a running descendant of the extant Virginia opossum, Didelphis (Fig 1). In the large reptile tree (LRT, 2338 taxa) the two are sister taxa.
Those Periptychus hooves (Fig 2) were unrelated to and thus convergent with those of other hooved mammals after analysis, thus avoiding “Pulling a Larry Martin.“
Figure 1. Skeleton of Periptychus (on green) compared to scale with Didelphis. Below are the manus and pes of Periptychus compared to the ghosted pes of Didelephis. Note the round unguals = hooves.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skeleton588.jpg?w=215″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skeleton588.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-92871″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skeleton588.jpg” alt=”Figure 1. Skeleton of Periptychus (on green) compared to scale with Didelphis. Below are the manus and pes of Periptychus compared to the ghosted pes of Didelephis. Note the round unguals = hooves.” width=”584″ height=”816″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skeleton588.jpg?w=584&h=816 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skeleton588.jpg?w=107&h=150 107w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skeleton588.jpg?w=215&h=300 215w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skeleton588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 1. Skeleton of Periptychus (on green) compared to scale with Didelphis. Below are the manus and pes of Periptychus compared to the ghosted pes of Didelephis. Note the round unguals = hooves and longer neck yet similar in structure.
In figure 1
the Periptychus pedal phalanges were newly restored here according to the Didelphis model.
Figure 2. Incomplete skull of Periptychus compared to scale to Didelphis and Monodelphis.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skull3views588.jpg?w=98″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skull3views588.jpg?w=335″ class=”size-full wp-image-92873″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skull3views588.jpg” alt=”Figure 2. Incomplete skull of Periptychus compared to scale to Didelphis and Monodelphis. ” width=”584″ height=”1788″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skull3views588.jpg?w=584&h=1788 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skull3views588.jpg?w=49&h=150 49w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skull3views588.jpg?w=98&h=300 98w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/periptychus-skull3views588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 2. Incomplete skull of Periptychus compared to scale to Didelphis and Monodelphis. Missing parts replaced with parts from related taxa.
Periptychus carinidens
(Cope 1881; Shelley et al. 2018) was originally and later unable to determine closest relatives. Here it nests with the Virginia opossum, Didelphis (Figs 1,2). The manus and pes are primitive in having no reduced fingers or toes, yet the unguals are reduced to stub-like round hooves, convergent with other hooved mammals. Shelley et al considered Periptychus a condylarth = ‘ungulate-like placental’ based on those manual hooves.
References
Cope ED 1881. The Condylarthra (Continued). American Naturalist 84;18: 892–906.
Linnaeus C 1758. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.
Mohamed R 2018. Anatomical and radiographic study on the skull and mandible of the common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis Linneaus, 1758 (in the Caribbean). Veterinary Sciences 5(44) 10 pp. doi:10.3390/vetsci5020044
Novacek MJ, Rogier GW, Wible JR, McKenna MC, Dashzev g D and Horovitz I 1997. Epipubic bones in eutherian mammals from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia Nature 389: 483-486.
Shelley SL, Williamson TE and Brusatte SL 2018. The osteology of Cope ED 1881. The Condylarthra (Continued). American Naturalist 84;18: 892–906. : A robust, ungulate-like placental mammal (Mammalia: Periptychidae) from the Paleocene of North America. PlosOne July 18, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200132
wiki/Didelphis
wiki/Amphicyon
wiki/Periptychus
wiki/Orthaspidotherium
Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2025/05/16/paleocene-opossum-with-hooves-periptychus/
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