Yuanotherium

Yuanotherium Temporal range: Oxfordian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Holotype upper jaw fragment
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Synapsida
Clade:	Therapsida
Clade:	Cynodontia
Family:	† Tritylodontidae
Genus:	† Yuanotherium Hu, Meng & Clark, 2009
Species:	†Y. minor
Binomial name
†Yuanotherium minor Hu, Meng & Clark, 2009

Holotype teeth

Life restoration

Yuanotherium minor is an extinct species of tritylodontid cynodonts which existed in China during the Late Jurassic epoch, described from the Shishugou Formation. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Yuanotherium. ^[1]

Description

Y. minor is charactersed by a reduced maxilla, a trait unique not just among tritylodontids but among cynodonts at large. It also had an exceptionally large lacrimal. ^[2]

Palaeobiology

Palaeoecology

Y. minor is suggested to have been an omnivore rather than a herbivore. ^[3]

References

1. "PBDB Taxon" . Retrieved 24 December 2025.
2. "Reinvestigation of Yuanotherium minor and its implications for the cuspal homology and maxillary-palatal evolution of tritylodontids". Vertebrata Palasiatica . 63 (2). LIU Lu, REN Ji-Cheng, MAO Fang-Yuan. 20 April 2025. doi:10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.250331. ISSN   2096-9899. Archived from the original on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
3. Yaoming Hu, Jin Meng & James M. Clark (2009). "A new tritylodontid from the Upper Jurassic of Xinjiang, China" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica . 54 (3): 385–391. doi: 10.4202/app.2008.0053 .