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Taeniodonta
Taeniodonta ("banded teeth") is an extinct early group of cimolestid mammals known from the Maastrichtian to the Eocene. 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. Two families belong to this group, Stylinodontidae and Conoryctidae. They were endemic to North America. The scarcity of taeniodont fossils can be explained by the fact that these animals probably lived in dry or arid climates unconductive to fossilization. Taeniodonts are unambiguously Eutherians, and part of Cimolesta; ''Cimolestes'' is the immediate outgroup to Taeniodonta. Taxonomy and phylogeny From Thomas E. Williamson and Stephen L. Brusatte (2013): * Order Cimolesta :* Suborder Taeniodonta ::*'' Alveugena'' ::*''Schowalteria'' ::* '' Onychodectes'' ::* Family Conoryct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stylinodontidae
Taeniodonta ("banded teeth") is an extinct early group of cimolestid mammals known from the Maastrichtian to the Eocene. 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. Two families belong to this group, Stylinodontidae and Conoryctidae. They were endemic to North America. The scarcity of taeniodont fossils can be explained by the fact that these animals probably lived in dry or arid climates unconductive to fossilization. Taeniodonts are unambiguously Eutherians, and part of Cimolesta; ''Cimolestes'' is the immediate outgroup to Taeniodonta. Taxonomy and phylogeny From Thomas E. Williamson and Stephen L. Brusatte (2013): * Order Cimolesta :* Suborder Taeniodonta ::*'' Alveugena'' ::*''Schowalteria'' ::* '' Onychodectes'' ::* Family Cono ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cimolesta
Cimolesta is an extinct order of non-placental eutherian mammals. Cimolestans had a wide variety of body shapes, dentition and lifestyles, though the majority of them were small to medium-sized general mammals that bore superficial resemblances to rodents, lagomorphs, mustelids, and marsupials. Several groups have previously been suggested to have descended from the Cimolesta: the Pholidota (which would have been regarded as a suborder of Cimolesta), the Creodonta, and the Carnivora. The origins of the enigmatic Dinocerata have been suggested to lie within the Cimolesta as well. However, recent studies have revealed that cimolestans are more likely to be basal, non-placental eutherians, with no living descendants. Some experts had placed the pangolins within Cimolesta, though the current consensus is that the pangolins should be placed within their own order, Pholidota, as a sister taxon to Carnivora within Ferae. Some have also placed the enigmatic family Ptolemaiidae within Ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schowalteria
''Schowalteria'' is a genus of extinct mammal from the Cretaceous of Canada. It is the earliest known representative of Taeniodonta, a specialised lineage of non-placental 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. Description Currently, ''Schowalteria'' is considered to be a monotypic genus, with only one species, ''S. clemensi''. It is known from only one skull. ''Schowalteria'' shares some speciations with later taeniodonts, namely similar canine and incisor morphology, similar facial proportions and zygomatic arch construction, though unlike them its occlusal surface is worn nearly completely flat, and the wear facet completely encompasses the paracone and metacone, leaving only an outline of the buccal side of the bases of these cusps remaining, differing radically fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cimolestes
''Cimolestes'' (from Ancient Greek , 'chalk robber') 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 Evolutionary grade, grade taxon of animals with similar features rather than a genus of Monophyly, 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. Most species have been described from teeth and isolated fragments. One complete articulated skeleton provisionally assigned to ''Cimolestes'' has been found. It shows a small, agile, tree-dwelling predator with long toes for grasping branches and a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paleocene Mammals
The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''palaiós'' meaning "old" and the Eocene Epoch (which succeeds the Paleocene), translating to "the old part of the Eocene". The epoch is bracketed by two major events in Earth's history. The K–Pg extinction event, brought on by an asteroid impact and possibly volcanism, marked the beginning of the Paleocene and killed off 75% of living species, most famously the non-avian dinosaurs. The end of the epoch was marked by the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which was a major climatic event wherein about 2,500–4,500 gigatons of carbon were released into the atmosphere and ocean systems, causing a spike in global temperatures and ocean acidification. In the Paleocene, the continents of the Northern Hemisphere were still connected via som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conoryctella
''Conoryctella'' was a genus of taeniodont Taeniodonta ("banded teeth") is an extinct early group of Cimolesta, cimolestid mammals known from the Maastrichtian to the Eocene. Taeniodonts evolution, evolved quickly into highly specialized digging animals, and varied greatly in size, from r ... cimolestans. References {{Reflist Cimolestans Prehistoric mammal genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eutheria
Eutheria (; from Greek , 'good, right' and , 'beast'; ) is the clade consisting of all therian mammals that are more closely related to placentals than to marsupials. Eutherians are distinguished from noneutherians by various phenotypic traits of the feet, ankles, jaws and teeth. All extant eutherians lack epipubic bones, which are present in all other living mammals (marsupials and monotremes). This allows for expansion of the abdomen during pregnancy. The oldest-known eutherian species is '' Juramaia sinensis'', dated at from the early Late Jurassic ( Oxfordian) of China. Eutheria was named in 1872 by Theodore Gill; in 1880 Thomas Henry Huxley defined it to encompass a more broadly defined group than Placentalia. Characteristics Distinguishing features are: *an enlarged malleolus ("little hammer") at the bottom of the tibia, the larger of the two shin bones *the joint between the first metatarsal bone and the entocuneiform bone (the innermost of the three cuneiform ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval from . The Maastrichtian was preceded by the Campanian and succeeded by the Danian (part of the Paleogene and Paleocene). The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event (formerly known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event) occurred at the end of this age. In this mass extinction, many commonly recognized groups such as non-avian dinosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, as well as many other lesser-known groups, died out. The cause of the extinction is most commonly linked to an asteroid about wide colliding with Earth, ending the Cretaceous. Stratigraphic definitions Definition The Maastrichtian was introduced into scientific literature by Belgian geologist André Hubert Dumont in 1849, after studying rock strata of the Chalk Group c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ectoganus
''Ectoganus'' is a fossil genus of mammals belonging to the family Stylinodontidae. The species of this genus are found in Northern America. Species: * ''Ectoganus bighornensis'' Schoch, 1981 * ''Ectoganus copei'' Schoch, 1981 * ''Ectoganus gliriformis ''Ectoganus'' is a fossil genus of mammals belonging to the family Stylinodontidae. The species of this genus are found in Northern America. Species: * ''Ectoganus bighornensis'' Schoch, 1981 * ''Ectoganus copei ''Ectoganus'' is a fossil ge ...'' Cope, 1874 References {{Taxonbar, from=Q22443087 Cimolestans Prehistoric mammal genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psittacotherium
''Psittacotherium'' (meaning "parrot beast") is an extinct genus of taeniodont from the Paleocene of North America. With a weight of about and a length over , it had similar size of a large dog. References *''Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids'' by Jordi Agusti and Mauricio Anton *''The Beginning of the Age of Mammals'' by Kenneth D. Rose *''Classification of Mammals'' by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell *''Evolution of Herbivory in Terrestrial Vertebrates: Perspectives from the Fossil Record'' by Hans-Dieter Sues External links''Psittacotherium''in the Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms. History The Paleobiology Database (PBDB) originated in the NCEAS-funded Phanerozoic Marine Pale ... Cimolestans Paleocene mammals Paleocene genus extinctions Paleocene mammals of North America Fossil taxa described in 1882 Prehistoric ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
