Taeniodonta | |
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species from family Stylinodontidae | |
skull of Conoryctes comma | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Clade: | Eutheria |
Infraclass: | Placentalia (?) |
Order: | † Taeniodonta Cope, 1876 [2] |
Families | |
[see classification] | |
Synonyms | |
list of synonyms:
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Taeniodonta ("banded teeth") is an extinct order of eutherian mammals, that lived in North America and Europe from the late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to middle Eocene. [3] [4] [5]
Taeniodonts evolved quickly into highly specialized digging animals, and varied greatly in size, from rat-sized to species as large as a bear. Later species developed prominent front teeth and huge claws for digging and rooting. Some genera, like Stylinodon , had ever-growing teeth. [6] The scarcity of taeniodont fossils can be explained by the fact that these animals probably lived in dry or arid climates unconductive to fossilization.
According to 2022 studies of Bertrand, O. C. and Sarah L. Shelley, taeniodonts are identified to be a basal placental mammal. [7] [8] Genera Ambilestes , Procerberus and Alveugena are the immediate outgroup to Taeniodonta. [9]
From Thomas E. Williamson and Stephen L. Brusatte (2013): [10]
Placentalia |
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Catopsalis is a genus of extinct mammal from the Paleocene of North America. This animal was a relatively large member of the extinct order of Multituberculata. Most multituberculates were much smaller.
Taeniolabis is a genus of extinct multituberculate mammal from the Paleocene of North America.
Oxyaenidae is a family of extinct carnivorous placental mammals. Traditionally classified in order Creodonta, this group is now classified in its own order Oxyaenodonta within clade Pan-Carnivora in mirorder Ferae. The group contains four subfamilies comprising fourteen genera. Oxyaenids were the first to appear during the late Paleocene in North America, while smaller radiations of oxyaenids in Europe and Asia occurred during the Eocene.
Stylinodontidae is an extinct family of mammals from extinct superfamily Stylinodontoidea within extinct order Taeniodonta, that lived in North America from the early Paleocene to middle Eocene.
Coryphodon is an extinct genus of pantodonts of the family Coryphodontidae.
Stylinodon is an extinct genus of taeniodonts from extinct tribe Stylinodontini within subfamily Stylinodontinae and family Stylinodontidae, that lived in North America from early to middle Eocene.
Cimolestes is a genus of early eutherians with a full complement of teeth adapted for eating insects and other small animals. Paleontologists have disagreed on its relationship to other mammals, in part because quite different animals were assigned to the genus, making Cimolestes a grade taxon of animals with similar features rather than a genus of closely related ones. Fossils have been found in North America, South America, Europe and Africa. Cimolestes first appeared during the Late Cretaceous of North America. According to some paleontologists, Cimolestes died out at the start of the Paleocene, while others report the genus from the early Eocene.
Vulpavus is an extinct paraphyletic genus of placental mammals from clade Carnivoraformes, that lived in North America from the early to middle Eocene.
Psittacotherium is an extinct genus of taeniodonts from extinct tribe Psittacotheriini within subfamily Stylinodontinae and family Stylinodontidae, that lived in North America from early to late Paleocene. With a weight between 35.6 kg (78 lb) and 71.2 kg (157 lb), and length of 1.125 m, it had similar size of a large dog.
Tillodontia is an extinct suborder of eutherian mammals known from the Early Paleocene to Late Eocene of China, the Late Paleocene to Middle Eocene of North America where they display their maximum species diversity, the Middle Eocene of Pakistan, and the Early Eocene of Europe. Leaving no descendants, they are most closely related to the pantodonts, another extinct group. The tillodonts were medium- to large-sized animals that probably fed on roots and tubers in temperate to subtropical habitats.
The Nacimiento Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the San Juan Basin of western New Mexico. It has an age of 61 to 65.7 million years, corresponding to the early and middle Paleocene. The formation has yielded an abundance of fossils from shortly after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event that provide clues to the recovery and diversification of mammals following the extinction event.
Schowalteria is a genus of extinct mammal from the Cretaceous of Canada. It is the earliest known representative of order Taeniodonta, a specialised lineage of eutherian mammals otherwise found in Paleocene and Eocene deposits. It is notable for its large size, being among the largest of Mesozoic mammals, as well as its speciation towards herbivory, which in some respects exceeds that of its later relatives.
Protictis is an extinct paraphyletic genus of placental mammals from extinct subfamily Didymictinae within extinct family Viverravidae, that lived in North America from early Paleocene to middle Eocene.
Ectoganus is an extinct genus of taeniodonts from tribe Ectoganini within subfamily Stylinodontinae and family Stylinodontidae, that lived in North America from late Paleocene to early Eocene.
Sinopidae is an extinct family of predatory placental mammals from extinct order Hyaenodonta. Fossil remains of these mammals are known from early to middle Eocene deposits in North America, Europe and Asia.
Metacheiromyidae is an extinct paraphyletic family of myrmecophagous placental mammals within extinct order Palaeanodonta, that lived in North America and Europe from the late Paleocene to middle Eocene.
Conoryctidae is an extinct family of mammals from extinct order Taeniodonta, that lived in North America and Europe from the early Paleocene to early Eocene.
Stylinodontinae is an extinct subfamily of mammals from extinct family Stylinodontidae, that lived in North America from the early Paleocene to middle Eocene.
Conoryctinae is an extinct subfamily of taeniodonts from extinct family Conoryctidae, that lived in North America from the early to middle Paleocene.