In 2003, Borealestes mussettae (originally 'B. mussetti') was named by Denise Sigogneau-Russell, based on isolated molars found in the Bathonian aged Kirtlington Mammal bed of Oxfordshire, England.[1] It differs from B. serendipitus in the details of cusps and ridges on the molar teeth. The species name mussetti was in honour of Dr Frances Mussett, in recognition of her major participation in fossil excavation at Kirtlington Cement Quarry. However, mussetti is the masculine form, and so this has been amended to mussettae by subsequent authors, starting with Alexander Averianov in 2004.[2][3] It was moved to the new genus Dobunnodon in 2021.[4]
Appearance
Dobunnodon is currently only known from isolated molars.[1][4][5]Docodonts are small (shrew to rat sized) mammaliaforms. Dobunnodon is believed to be a basal member of Docodonta.[6]
^Averianov, A. O. (2004). Interpretation of the Early Cretaceous mammal Peraiocynodon (Docodonta) and taxonomy of some British Mesozoic docodonts. Russian Journal of Theriology 3:1–4.
^ abPanciroli, E.; Benson, R. B. J.; Fernandez, V.; Butler, R. J.; Fraser, N. C.; Luo, Z.-X.; Walsh, S. (2021). "New species of mammaliaform and the cranium of Borealestes (Mammaliformes: Docodonta) from the Middle Jurassic of the British Isles". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 192 (4): 1323–1362. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa144.
