Taeniodonta Explained

Taeniodonta ("banded teeth") is an extinct order of eutherian mammals, that lived in North America and Europe from the late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to middle Eocene.^{[1] [2]}

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. The scarcity of taeniodont fossils can be explained by the fact that these animals probably lived in dry or arid climates unconductive to fossilization.

According to 2022 studies of Bertrand, O. C. and Sarah L. Shelley, taeniodonts are identified to be a basal placental mammal.^{[3] [4]} Genera Ambilestes, Procerberus and Alveugena are the immediate outgroup to Taeniodonta.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Taxonomy

From Thomas E. Williamson and Stephen L. Brusatte (2013):^[5]

• Order: †Taeniodonta
  • Genus: †Schowalteria
    • †Schowalteria clemensi
  • Family: †Conoryctidae
    • Subfamily: †Conoryctinae
      • Tribe: †Conoryctellini
        • Genus: †Conoryctella
          • †Conoryctella dragonensis
          • †Conoryctella pattersoni
      • Tribe: †Conoryctini
        • Genus: †Conoryctes
          • †Conoryctes comma
        • Genus: †Huerfanodon
          • †Huerfanodon heilprinianus
          • †Huerfanodon polecatensis
          • †Huerfanodon torrejonius
    • Subfamily: †Eurodontinae
      • Genus: †Eurodon
        • †Eurodon silveirinhensis
  • Family: †Onychodectidae
    • Genus: †Onychodectes
      • †Onychodectes tisonensis
        • †Onychodectes tisonensis rarus
        • †Onychodectes tisonensis tisonensis
  • Superfamily: †Stylinodontoidea
    • Family: †Stylinodontidae
      • Subfamily: †Stylinodontinae
        • Tribe: †Ectoganini
          • Genus: †Ectoganus
            • †Ectoganus bighornensis
            • †Ectoganus copei
            • †Ectoganus gliriformis
            • †Ectoganus lobdelli
        • Tribe: †Psittacotheriini
          • Genus: †Psittacotherium
            • †Psittacotherium multifragum
        • Tribe: †Stylinodontini
          • Genus: †Stylinodon
            • †Stylinodon mirus
      • Subfamily: †Wortmaniinae
        • Genus: †Wortmania
          • †Wortmania otariidens

Phylogeny

Notes and References

1. Book: Cox . Barry . Savage . R.J.G. . Gardiner . Brian . Dixon . Dougal . Macmillan Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals . Early rooters and browsers . 1988 . Macmillan London Limited . 978-0-333-48699-3.
2. Book: McKenna . Malcolm C. . Bell . Susan K. . Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level . 16 March 2015 . 1997 . Columbia University Press . New York . 978-0-231-11012-9.
3. Bertrand . O. C. . Shelley . S. L. . Williamson . T. E. . Wible . J. R. . Chester . S. G. B. . Flynn . J. J. . Holbrook . L. T. . Lyson . T. R. . Meng . J. . Miller . I. M. . Püschel . H. P. . Smith . T. . Spaulding . M. . Tseng . Z. J. . Brusatte . S. L. . 2022 . Brawn before brains in placental mammals after the end-Cretaceous extinction . Science . 376 . 6588 . 80–85 . 10.1126/science.abl5584 . 35357913 . 2022Sci...376...80B . 20.500.11820/d7fb8c6e-886e-4c1d-9977-0cd6406fda20 . free .
4. Sarah L. Shelley (2022.) "The phylogeny of Paleocene mammals and the evolution of Placentalia", in "The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 82nd annual meeting"
5. Williamson . T. E. . Brusatte . S. L. . Viriot . Laurent . 10.1371/journal.pone.0075886 . New Specimens of the Rare Taeniodont Wortmania (Mammalia: Eutheria) from the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and Comments on the Phylogeny and Functional Morphology of "Archaic" Mammals . PLOS ONE . 8 . 9 . e75886 . 2013 . 24098738 . 3786969 . 2013PLoSO...875886W . free.