| Menadon Temporal range: Late Triassic ~ | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | Cynodontia |
| Family: | † Traversodontidae |
| Subfamily: | † Gomphodontosuchinae |
| Genus: | † Menadon Flynn et al. 2000 |
| Species: | †M. besairiei |
| Binomial name | |
| †Menadon besairiei Flynn et al. 2000 | |
Menadon is an extinct genus of traversodontid cynodonts. The type and only species is Menadon besairiei. [1]
Fossils of Menadon were first found in Isalo II (the Makay Formation) of Madagascar, which preserves sediments from the Middle to Late Triassic period. [1] [2] They have also been recovered from the Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin near Santa Cruz do Sul in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. [3]
Menadon was unique among non-mammalian synapsids for the presence of hypsodont (high-crowned) postcanine teeth. Hypsodont teeth grow continuously to counteract high wear caused by a diet of abrasive plant material. Menadon's teeth convergently resemble those of hypsodont xenarthrans such as sloths and armadillos, due to their column-like form and dentine which grows from the crown towards the root. [4]
