Labes: a Maastrichtian Cretaceous Eutherian Mammal From France

A Late Cretaceous eutherian mammal from southwestern France

Authors:

Martin et al

Abstract:

The first jaw remain of the Late Cretaceous eutherian Labes is a mandibular fragment from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) locality Massecaps in Departement Herault in southwestern France. The mandible holds three double-rooted molars (m1–3) with broken trigonids and preserved talonids of which m1 apparently was the largest. The entoconid is slightly approximated to the hypoconulid (69–74 % of the distance between the hypoconulid and hypoconid). The talonid basin has a rectangular shape, and the molar roots are not fused. An upper molar (M1) from the same locality bears three roots; it is characterized by a strong ectoflexus and a well-developed parastylar lobe. The largest cusp is the conical pyramidal paracone, followed by the tetrahedral shaped, very low protocone, and the small, distally placed metacone. Previously, Labes was only known by a few isolated lower molars from the late Campanian of Champ-Garimond (France) and the Maastrichtian of El Molino near Quintanilla del Coco (northwestern Spain).