Allodontidae (from ancient Greek "ἄλλος" "ὀδούς", "different tooth") is a family of extinct

multituberculate Multituberculata (commonly known as multituberculates, named for the multiple tubercles of their teeth) is an extinct order of rodent-like mammals with a fossil record spanning over 130 million years. They first appeared in the Middle Jurassic, a ...

mammal that lived in what is now North America during the Upper

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

period. They were relatively early mammals and are within the informal suborder of "

Plagiaulacida Plagiaulacida is a group of extinct multituberculate mammals. Multituberculates were among the most common mammals of the Mesozoic, "the age of the dinosaurs". Plagiaulacids are a paraphyletic grouping, containing all multituberculates that lie ...

". The family was named by

Othniel Charles Marsh Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was an American professor of Paleontology in Yale College and President of the National Academy of Sciences. He was one of the preeminent scientists in the field of paleontology. Among ...

in 1889. Two genera are recognized: ''

Ctenacodon ''Ctenacodon'' ("comb needle tooth" from Ancient Greek κτενός (ktenós), "comb" + Latin acus, "needle" + Ancient Greek ὀδών (odṓn), "tooth") is a genus of extinct mammal that lived in what is now North America during the Upper Jura ...

'' and '' Psalodon''.

References

* Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Hurum JH (2001), "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals". ''Paleontology'' 44, p. 389-429. * Most of this information has been derived fro

MESOZOIC MAMMALS: Basal Multituberculata, an Internet directory. Multituberculates Late Jurassic first appearances Late Jurassic extinctions Prehistoric mammal families {{Jurassic-mammal-stub