The generic name is derived from Mandarin (神獸 shénshòu) shen, meaning deity, and shou, meaning animal, while the specific name is in reference to Lu Jianhua, the scientist who collected the holotype specimen.[1]
Description
Shenshou is thought to be arboreal because it had a light frame, a prehensile and elongated tail, and hands and feet which had evolved for clutching and enabled the animal to climb.[2][3] These features, including the large incisors of Shenshou, made the animal resemble a squirrel. However, Shenshou are not the direct ancestors of squirrels, the resemblance being purely due to convergent evolution.[3] Individuals are believed to have weighed 300 grams (11 oz).[1] The presence of a three-boned middle ear suggests these animals were mammals;[3] however, it has since been determined haramiyidans developed their ear bones independently from true mammals and are Mammaliaformes outside of the mammal crown-group.[4][5][6] The teeth, which have a number of cusps, suggest that Shenshou was probably an omnivore, most likely with a diet of fruits, nuts and insects.[3][7]
^Qing-Jin Meng; David M. Grossnickle; Di Liu; Yu-Guang Zhang; April I. Neander; Qiang Ji; Zhe-Xi Luo (2017). "New gliding mammaliaforms from the Jurassic". Nature. in press. doi:10.1038/nature23476.
