 allotheria (meaning "other beasts", from the greek Î±Î»Î»ÏÏ, allos-other and Î¸Î®ÏÎ¹Î¿Î½, therion-wild animal) is an extinct branch of successful mesozoic mammals. the most important characteristic was the presence of lower molariform teeth equipped with two longitudinal rows of cusps.  allotheria includes multituberculata, probably haramiyida, and possibly the enigmatic gondwanatheria. allotheres also had a narrow pelvis, indicating that they gave birth to tiny helpless young like marsupials do. ==interpretations== when he first identified allotheria in 1880, othniel marsh regarded this group as an order within marsupialia. but in 1997, mckenna and bell classified allotheria as an infraclass. ==in popular culture== the song "mammal" by they might be giants includes a reference to this extinct group as "dead uncle allotheria". == references ==  ==further reading== zofia kielan-jaworowska, richard l. cifelli, and zhe-xi luo, mammals from the age of dinosaurs: origins, evolution, and structure (new york: columbia university press, 2004), 249.
Mammal_taxonomy Prehistoric_mammals