Phascolestes fossil map
Where fossils of Phascolestes have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 145 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 145 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 143.1–139.1 million years ago (Berriasian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Dryolestidae |
| Named by | Owen 1871 |
| Fossil records | 6 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United Kingdom |
| Rock formations | Lulworth |
About Phascolestes
Phascolestes is a genus of extinct mammal from the Berriasian epoch of Early Cretaceous Southern England. The type and only species is Phascolestes mustelulus, which was named by Richard Owen in 1871 for dental material from the Lulworth Formation. Phascolestes is a close relative of co-existing taxon Achyrodon within the subfamily Kurtodontinae of the family Dryolestidae, with Kurtodon being a junior synonym of Phascolestes although the subfamily name is still applicable.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Phascolestes (revision 1045470153), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q11941374.
