Triconodontidae
Triconodontidae Temporal range: Middle Jurassic - Late Cretaceous,
| |
---|---|
![]() | |
Triconodon mordax jaw, Richard Owen 1861 | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | †Eutriconodonta |
Family: | †Triconodontidae Marsh, 1887 |
Subgroups | |
|
Triconodontidae is an extinct family of small, carnivorous mammals belonging to the order Eutriconodonta, endemic to what would become Asia, Europe, North America and probably also Africa and South America[2][3] during the Jurassic through Cretaceous periods at least from 190–66 mya.[4][1]
Triconodontids can be distinguished from other eutriconodonts by the shape of their molars, which bore three main cusps of roughly equal size. During occlusion, the upper and lower molars interlocked tightly, producing a self-sharpening cutting edge. Historically, the triconodontids were thought to have a different occlusion pattern than other eutriconodonts, with the middle cusp of the lower molar (cusp a) fitting between the middle cusp (cusp A) and the front cusp (cusp B) of the upper molar, as in the basal mammaliaform Morganucodon.[4] However, a 2020 study on Priacodon suggests that triconodontids occluded their molars in the same manner as other eutriconodonts (so-called "embrasure occlusion"), with the middle cusp (cusp A/a) fitting between two opposing molars.[5]
Taxonomy[edit]
Triconodontidae was named by Marsh (1887). It was assigned to Polyprotodontia by Cope (1889); to Triconodonta by Rasmussen and Callison (1981), Bonaparte (1986), Carroll (1988) and Engelmann and Callison (1998); and to Mammalia by Marsh (1887) and Luo et al. (2001).[6]
Sometimes Volaticotheria is recovered as a part of this group.[2] However, other phylogenetic studies group it outside of Triconodontidae.[7][8]
Phylogeny[edit]
Cladogram after Gaetano & Rougier, 2011:[2]
Triconodontidae | |
References[edit]
- ^ a b Bajpai, Sunil; Rautela, Abhay; Yadav, Ravi; Mantilla, Gregory P. Wilson (29 February 2024). "The first eutriconodontan mammal from the Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of India". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2312234.
- ^ a b c Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 31 (4): 829–843. Bibcode:2011JVPal..31..829G. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.589877. hdl:11336/68497. S2CID 85069761.
- ^
- ^ a b (PDF). Palaeontologia Polonica. 67: 35–65. doi:10.4202/pp.2016.67_035 (inactive 31 January 2024).
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link) - ^
- ^
- ^ Nature. 526 (7573): 380–384. Bibcode:2015Natur.526..380M. doi:10.1038/nature14905. hdl:10486/710730. PMID 26469049. S2CID 205245235.
- ^ Doklady Biological Sciences. 436 (1): 32–35. doi:10.1134/s0012496611010042. PMID 21374009. S2CID 10324906.
- Triconodontidae
- Prehistoric mammal families
- Middle Jurassic first appearances
- Late Cretaceous extinctions
- Jurassic mammals of Africa
- Cretaceous mammals of Africa
- Jurassic mammals of Asia
- Cretaceous mammals of Asia
- Jurassic mammals of Europe
- Cretaceous mammals of Europe
- Jurassic mammals of North America
- Cretaceous mammals of North America
- Jurassic mammals of South America
- Cretaceous mammals of South America
- Taxa named by Othniel Charles Marsh