Hondadelphys Temporal range: Mid-Miocene 13–12 Ma |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Infraclass: | Metatheria |
Order: | Sparassodonta |
Family: |
Hondadelphidae Marshall et al. 1990 |
Genus: |
Hondadelphys Marshall, 1976 |
Type species | |
Hondadelphys fieldsi Marshall, 1976 |
Hondadelphys fieldsi is an extinct carnivorous sparassodont, known from the mid-Miocene of Colombia. H. fieldsi, was described in 1976 from the fossil locality of La Venta, part of the Villavieja FormationHondadelphys was originally interpreted as belonging to the opossum family Didelphidae, but subsequently assigned to its own family, Hondadelphidae and interpreted as a basal sparassodont. The genus name refers to the Honda Group, the stratigraphic group in which the fossils of this animal were first found, combined with delphys (Greek for "womb", a common suffix used for opossum-like metatherians).