A near-complete Jehol skeleton supplies ear and hyoid anatomy to a matrix that revises early eutherian and metatherian sampling.
Represented range126–125 Ma
RegionsLujiatun Unit, Yixian Formation, Liaoning, China
CladesAmbolestes zhoui · Sinodelphys szalayi · Eutheria · Metatheria
Claim ledger
topology · medium
Near-complete holotype STM33-5 preserves ear and hyoid anatomy used in a morphology matrix that recovered Ambolestes and Sinodelphys within Eutheria, shifting the oldest sampled metatherian record to younger North American fossils; this is a dataset-dependent topology, not an observed placental–marsupial split or direct ancestor.