Mesozoic mammals

["Dino Rampage" <dino_rampage@hotmail.com>]

I recently sent a query regarding the proto-mammals & mammals of the 
Mesozoic, but not many seemed to notice. (Many thanks anyway to the person 
who sent me the address of the Eucynodont genus index)

1)I've read somewhere that many of our early mammals may have been like 
monotremes in that they were oviparous. How likely is this and which groups 
may have adopted this lifestyle? Where and in which time period are there 
signs that mammals adopted viviparous birth? Or is it possible that live 
birth has evolved repeatedly among many separate mammal lineages, (say, more 
than once in the multis, once in the dryolestids, and once in the common 
ancestor of eutherians & metatherians?)

2) I need more info about the cladistics and systematics of the following 
groups: Morganucodontids, Docodonts, Multituberculates, Haramyids, 
Dryolestids, Triconodonts, Pantotheres and Symmetrodonts. Any good 
cladograms besides those on the Dinosauricon? Which of these survived up 
until the K-T? And just how similar were multis to extant rodents?

3) What ecological niche would these mammals have occupied? Listed below are 
a few examples I can think of:

Opossums, Phascogales, Planigale, Antechinus, Numbats, Brushtail & ringtail 
possums, honey possums, solenodons, shrews, desmans (semi-aquatic moles of 
Eurasia), moonrats or gymnures, tree shrews, mouse lemurs, rodents (similar 
to multis?), and elephant shrews just to name a few.

Is there fossil evidence that the Chiroptera were already in existence 
before the K-T? What about the colugos (or flying lemurs)? And is there a 
possibility that the Mesozoic mammals evolved gliding just like sugar 
gliders, anomalures or flying squirrels?

3) Besides the small scurrying forms, what other niches could Mesozoic 
mammals have occupied? I know Didelphodon was badger-sized, so could it have 
been a generalist like the badger or wolverine? And are there any other 
mammals that evolved forms like those of palm civets, linsangs, genets and 
weasels?

Any information would be useful. While dinosaurs remain my main focus, I 
would like to know and understand the rest of the fauna that existed 
alongside them.

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