Vintana
Vintana sertichi is an early groundhog-like mammal dating from the Late Cretaceous, approximately 66 million years ago. Scientists found the lone fossil, a skull, on Madagascar's west coast in the Maastrichtian Maevarano Formation.
Vintana is extremely relevant to our understanding of gondwanatheres thanks to the fact that it is the first well preserved skull, as opposed to previous fragments and teeth. Establishing a connection with multituberculates and haramiyidans in the theriiforme clade Allotheria, it is a rather unusual animal, possessing massive lateral flanges in its skull whose exact purpose is poorly understood, as well as massive olefactory bulbs. A rather large animal at a weight of, Vintana also represents another example of a considerably large Mesozoic mammal, alongside forms like Repenomamus and Didelphodon.
