| Turgidodon Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Clade: | Marsupialiformes |
| Family: | † Alphadontidae |
| Genus: | † Turgidodon Cifelli, 1990 [1] |
| Type species | |
| Turgidodon praesagus (Russell, 1952) | |
| Other species | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
Turgidodon is an extinct genus of alphadontid marsupial from the Late Cretaceous of western North America. [1]
The genus was named in 1990 by Richard L. Cifelli for species that had previously been described as members of Alphadon , with the name after the Latin word Turgidus: "swollen". The type species is T. praesagus, first named in 1952 by Russell as a species of Delphodon for a tooth from the Oldman Formation of Alberta. As well, Turgidodon includes T. rhaister, named in 1966 by Clemens as a species of Alphadon from the Lance Formation, T. russelli, named in 1979 by Fox as a species of Alphadon also from the Oldman Formation, T. parapraesagus, named in 1987 by Rigby and Wolfberg as a species of Alphadon from the Forest Fauna, and two species named in 1990 by Cifelli: T. lillegraveni and T. madseni. Both T. lillengraveni and T. madseni are from the Kaiparowits Formation of Utah, and named after paleontologists important to the studies of early mammals. [1]