The Prehistoric Park Animal Field Guide Volume 1

by WildExpert24

As a Prehistoric Park employee, you get the privilege to work with the likes of previously extinct animals. However, if you want to survive longer than five minutes, then you need to have knowledge of its inhabitants. From the world of Cartoon's Prehistoric Park, this Guide will give you info on behavior, diet, lifespan, and more. Welcome to the Ultimate Prehistoric Guidebook.

50. Alphadon

Alphadon

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Family: Alphadontidae

Genus: Alphadon

Type Species: Alphadon marshi meaning "Marsh's First Tooth."

Described by George Gaylord Simpson, 1927.

Common Names: Hell Creek Opossum

Species:

-Alphadon marshi (type), Simpson, 1927

-Alphadon wilsoni, Lillegraven, 1969

-Alphadon halleyi, Sahni, 1972

-Alphadon attaragos, Lillegraven & McKenna, 1986

-Alphadon sahnii, Lillegraven & McKenna, 1986

-Alphadon clemensi, Eaton, 1993

-Alphadon lillegraveni, Eaton, 1993

-Alphadon perexiguus, Cifelli, 1994

-Alphadon eatoni, Cifelli & Muizon, 1998

Current Park Population:

Park Diet: Fruit, Insects, and cut-up meat into food pellets.

Natural Diet: Insects, Fruit, and small vertebrates such as lizards.

Lifespan: 4 Years

Habitat: Open-Canopy Forests, Floodplains, Swamps, and Fern Prairies.

Native Ecosystem: Western North America, on what was then an island continent known as Laramidia. Hell Creek Formation, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico, USA, and Alberta Canada, Late Cretaceous, 70-66 Million Years Ago, Maastrichtian Stage.

Breeding Season: January to July

Gestation Period: 2 Weeks

Litter Born: 13 Joeys.

Danger Level: 2 out of 10.

Park Star Rating: 2 stars

Summary: Scurrying through the underbrush as well as the feet of large dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, the mammals ruled the under the shadows of the giants. But the mammals have diversified and occupied niches like their modern-day counterparts among them is Alphadon, a small mammal believed to be a primitive relative of the marsupials or "pouched mammals."

Description: Not much is known about the appearance of Alphadon, as it is only known from teeth, a lower jaw, and skull fragments. It probably grew to about 12 in (30 cm) and may have resembled a modern opossum. It is an extinct genus of small, primitive mammals that was a member of the metatherians, a group of mammals that includes modern-day marsupials. Its fossils were first discovered and named by George Gaylord Simpson in 1929.

Individuals are a dark brown stripe and a brown body, a pale rose tail, a pink snout, black markings around the eyes, pale feet with white claws, and a white underbelly.

Classification: The type species is Alphadon marshi. Eight other species are known. The species Alphadon jasoni was originally described by Storer (1991); it was subsequently transferred to the herpetotheriid genus Nortedelphys.

Recent phylogenetic studies group it with other northern non-marsupial metatherians such as Albertatherium and Turgidodon.

Paleobiology

Dentition and Diet: Judging from its teeth, it was likely an omnivore, feeding on fruits, invertebrates, and possibly small vertebrates. Alphadon had a very good sense of smell and sight to track down its food, both during the day and night. Its possible whiskers could have also aided in its search for food.

Behavior: Joeys are born in their mother's pouch and when they grow older, cling onto her back, and they may hang upside down from their tails. If threatened, an Aphadon will either flee or take a stand. To appear threatening, an opossum will first bare its 50 teeth, snap its jaw, hiss, drool, and stand its fur on end to look bigger. If this does not work, the Virginia opossum is noted for feigning death in response to extreme fear. This is the genesis of the term "playing possum", which means pretending to be dead or injured with the intent to deceive.

In this inactive state, it lies limp and motionless on its side, mouth, and eyes open, tongue hanging out, and feet clenched. Fear can also cause the opossum to release a green fluid from its anus with a putrid odor that repels predators. Heart rate drops by half, and breathing rate is so slow and shallow it is hardly detectable. Death feigning normally stops when the threat withdraws, and it can last for several hours. Besides discouraging animals that eat live prey, playing possums also convinces some large animals that the opossum is no threat to their young.

Interactions with other species: Herbivores often ignore these marsupials, but they are prey to many predators young Tyrannosaurus, Acheroraptor, Dakotaraptor, Dromaeosaurus, and Pectinodon. Others like Quetzalcoatlus, Ornithomimus, Anzu, Leptoceratops, Triceratops, Torosaurus, Thescelosaurus, Palaeosaniwa, and Dinilysia. On the water's edge Lepisosteus occidentalis, Melvius, Didelphodon, Thoracosaurus, Borealosuchus, Champsosaurus, Habrosaurus, Axestemys, Brachychampsa, Brodavis, and Lonchidion. Alphadon's skills to escape are to run and hide or play dead to deter them away.

They prey on hatchlings and eggs of dinosaurs, reptiles, and amphibians along with small prey like Chamops, Palaeobatrachus, Scapherpeton, and Casterolimulus.

Extinction: Unfortunately, the Aphadon wasn't among the mammals to survive the K-PG Extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Danger Tip: They are quite easy to handle, but they can bite with their sharp teeth.

Significant Events: On the final day, the team encounters a group of Palaeosaniwa basking in the sun as they lounged upon a large rock, alongside Chamops scampering around in search of food like insects and plants three mammals, Cimolestes, Alphadon, and Meniscoessus, scattered throughout the clearing as they fought with each other for food, and a Slither of Dinilysia coiled up on top of a large log basking in the sun. They were scooped up in bags and taken to Prehistoric Park. They now live in the Hell Creek Building Mammal Pens.

Hell Creek Building Mammal Pens: They are Four other land paddocks near the back entrance of the building, with burrows and underground viewing, serving as home to Didelphodaon, Alphadon, Cimolestes, and Meniscoessus. The Alphadon paddock is more of a nocturnal room, with replica sections of large trees with branches resembling the canopy with controlled lighting to mimic day/night cycles.

Conclusion: Alphadon is an enduring little animal for young visitors and people who adore cute animals. Alphadons represent mammals being the underdogs surviving the Age of the Dinosaurs/

The Field Guide might take a long time, like structuring and writing descriptions of the creatures, but also my time in college and spending time with my family. So you can suggest additional information quotes, descriptions, and natural or speculative behaviors for the prehistoric animals that I can edit and you send your suggestions either in reviews or Private Messages.

Examples: Inferring what the toons are doodling on the sketches or snarking quotes.

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