A new species of multituberculate mammal Uzbekbaatar from the Late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan

Multituberculates were dominant mammals in the Late Cretaceous communities of Central Asia (present-day Mongolia), but very rare in the Late Cretaceous faunal assemblages from western Asia (Uzbekistan), where ungulate-like mammals dominated (Nessov et al. 1998), So far only one Late Cretaceous multituberculate taxon Uzbekbaatar kizylkumensis Kielan-Jaworowska & Nessov, 1992 was known from Uzbekistan. Here I describe the second Late Cretaceous multituberculate from the same area, Uzbekbaatar wardi sp. n., based upon an isolated p4 from the ?Santonian Aitym Formation at Dzharakuduk, Central Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan. It differs from the Coniacian Uzbekbaatar kizylkumensis by somewhat derived morphology (larger size, greater number of p4 ridges and serrations).