''Clemensodon'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of extinct mammal from the Upper

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

of North America. It lived during the end of the

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...

, also known as the "age of the

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s". It was a member of the extinct order of

Multituberculata 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 ...

within the suborder of

Cimolodonta Cimolodonta is a taxon of extinct mammals that lived from the Cretaceous to the Eocene. They were some of the more derived members of the extinct order Multituberculata. They probably lived something of a rodent-like existence until their ...

and family

Eucosmodontidae Eucosmodontidae is a poorly preserved family of fossil mammals within the extinct order Multituberculata. Representatives are known from strata dating from the Upper Cretaceous through the Lower Eocene of North America, as well as the Paleocene ...

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

remains are restricted to teeth. The main species of Clemensodon is ''Clemensodon megaloba'', however, this species is also known as a part of '' Kimbetohia campi''. Fossils have been found in the Lance Formation of

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

(United States). They age from the Maastrichtian division of the Upper Cretaceous. The species is based on a reassessment of a couple of ''Kimbetohia'' teeth, but not the entire species or genus. The assignment of this taxon to Eucosmodontidae is tentative. Evidence from the size and number of serrations of certain teeth and its enamel microstructure indicates that ''Clemensodon'' is either a derived taeniolabdoid or a primitive ptilodontoid. Determination of which of these two alternatives is correct must await the recovery of teeth from other positions.

References

* Most of this information has been derived fro

''MESOZOIC MAMMALS;

Microcosmodontidae Microcosmodontidae is a poorly preserved family of fossil mammals within the extinct order Multituberculata. Representatives are known from the Lower Paleocene of North America. The family is part of the suborder Cimolodonta. Other than that, the ...

and

Taeniolabidoidea Taeniolabidoidea is a group of extinct mammals known from North America and Asia. They were the largest members of the extinct order Multituberculata, as well as the largest non-therian mammals. ''Lambdopsalis'' even provides direct fossil eviden ...

, an Internet directory''. * Kielan-Jaworowska Z. and Hurum J.H. (2001), "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals". ''Paleontology'' 44, p. 389-429. * Krause (1992), "''Clemensodon megaloba'', a new genus and species of Multituberculata (Mammalia) from the Upper Cretaceous Type Lance Formation, Powder River Basin, Wyoming". ''PaleoBios'' 14(2), p. 1-8. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5131277 Cimolodonts Late Cretaceous mammals of North America Extinct mammals of North America Fossil taxa described in 1992 Prehistoric mammal genera