''Taeniolabis'' ("banded incisor") is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

multituberculate

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

from the

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Description

It is the largest known member of the extinct order

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 ...

, as well as the largest non-therian mammal: ''T. taoensis'', a species known from

Danian The Danian is the oldest age or lowest stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series, of the Paleogene Period or System, and of the Cenozoic Era or Erathem. The beginning of the Danian (and the end of the preceding Maastrichtian) is at the Cretaceous� ...

deposits in the

Denver Formation The Denver Formation is a geological formation that is present within the central part of the Denver Basin that underlies the Denver, Colorado, area. It ranges in age from latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to early Paleocene, and includes sediment ...

of Colorado, possibly exceeds 100 kg.

Taxonomy

It is 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 is a member of the superfamily

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 ...

. The genus was named by

Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested ...

in 1882. Species have also been placed with the genera '' Catopsalis'' and ''Polymastodon''. The

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

''Taeniolabis lamberti'' was named by N.B. Simmons in 1987. It has been found in the Puercan (Paleocene)-age

Tullock Formation The Tullock Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in Montana. It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene Period (geology), period. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Montana * Paleontology in Montana ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. It is not quite as large as ''T. taoensis'', but still a hefty size for a multituberculate. Taeniolabis NT small

The species ''Taeniolabis taoensis'' was named by Cope E.D. in 1882. It is also known as ''Catopsalis pollux'' (Cope, 1882); ''Polymastodon attenuatus'' (Cope, 1885); ''P. latimolis'' Cope, 1885; ''P. selenodus'' Osborn H.F. and Earle C., 1895; ''P. taoensis'' (Cope, 1882); ''T. attetuatus''; ''T. scalper'' (Cope 1884); ''T. sulcatus'' (Cope 1882a); ''T. triserialis'' (Granger & Simpson, 1929). They are found in the

Puercan The Puercan North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions ...

-age

Nacimiento Formation The Nacimiento Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the San Juan Basin of western New Mexico (United States). It has an age of 61 to 65.7 million years, corresponding to the early and middle Paleocene. The formation has yielded an ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and in the

Ravenscrag Formation The Ravenscrag Formation is a stratigraphic unit of early Paleocene age in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. It was named for the settlement of Ravenscrag, Saskatchewan, and was first described from outcrops at Ravenscrag Butte near the Fr ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. This species had a long skull. It is the largest known multituberculate, as big as the giant beaver.

References

Sources

* Cope (1882), "A new genus of Taeniodonta". ''

American Naturalist ''The American Naturalist'' is the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society of Naturalists, whose purpose is "to advance and to diffuse knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles so as to enhance t ...

'' XVI, p. 604-605. * Osborn and Earle (1895), "Fossil mammals of the Puerco beds." Collection of 1892. ''Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.'' VII, p. 1-70, with 21 figs. * Granger and Simpson (1929), "A revision of the Tertiary Multituberculata." ''Bulletin Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.'' 56, p. 601-676, 43 figs. * Simons N.B. (1986), "''Taeniolabis'' Cope, 1882 (Mammalia, Multituberculata): proposed designation of ''Polymastodon taoensis'' Cope, 1882 as type species." ''Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature'' 43(3), p. 310-311. * Kielan-Jaworowska Z. and Hurum J.H. (2001), "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals". ''Paleontology'' 44, p. 389-429. * Cope (1882), "Mammalia in the Laramie Formation'." ''American Naturalist'' 16, p. 830-831. * Much of this information is derived fro

MESOZOIC MAMMALS;

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 ...

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, an Internet directory. * Simmons (1987), "A revision of ''Taeniolabis''(Mammalia: Multituberculata), with a new species from the Puercan of eastern Montana." ''J. Paleont.'' 61(4), p. 794-808. * {{Taxonbar, from=Q768875 Cimolodonts Paleocene mammals of North America Paleocene genus extinctions Prehistoric mammal genera