Itatodon Explained

Itatodon is an extinct genus of primitive mammaliaforms known from the Bathonian aged Itat Formation of Russia. The genus is named after the formation, with the species being named after Leonid Petrovich Tatarinov who described the first docodontfrom Asia. It is known from a holotype right lower molar^[1] and referred isolated right lower molar and fragment of the left lower molar.^[2] When it was first described, it was thought to be a docodontan, but one recent phylogenetic studies have assigned it, along with its close relative Paritatodon to Shuotheriidae,^[3] while others continue to consider it a docodont.

Notes and References

1. Lopatin. A. V.. Averianov. A. O.. November 2005. A New Docodont (Docodonta, Mammalia) from the Middle Jurassic of Siberia. Doklady Biological Sciences. 405. 1–6. 434–436. 10.1007/s10630-005-0158-y. 16485637. 27755877. 0012-4966.
2. Averianov. A. O.. Lopatin. A. V.. December 2006. Itatodon tatarinovi (Tegotheriidae, Mammalia), a docodont from the Middle Jurassic of Western Siberia and phylogenetic analysis of Docodonta. Paleontological Journal. 40. 6. 668–677. 10.1134/s0031030106060098. 129438779. 0031-0301.
3. Wang. Yuan-Qing. Li. Chuan-Kui. Reconsideration of the systematic position of the Middle Jurassic mammaliaforms Itatodon and Paritatodon. Palaeontologia Polonica. 67. 249–256. 10.4202/pp.2016.67_249. 31 January 2024.