Agilodocodon

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Agilodocodon
Temporal range:
Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Therapsida
Clade: Cynodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Order: Docodonta
Genus: Agilodocodon
Meng et al., 2015
Species:
A. scansorius
Binomial name
Agilodocodon scansorius
Meng et al., 2015

Agilodocodon was a genus of

mammaliaform.[1][2]
It contains one species, A. scansorius.

Appearance

Agilodocodon measured approximately 13 centimetres (5.1 in) from head to tail, weighing about 27 grams.[2] Its appearance was similar to a squirrel, with a long snout, curved, horny claws and flexible ankle and wrist joints typical of modern arboreal mammals.[1][2] The front teeth were spade-like, indicating that Agilodocodon could gnaw tree bark and consume gum or sap.[2] Evolutionary biologist Frietson Galis, however, questioned whether Agilodocodon gnawed bark and ate tree sap, saying its teeth "are quite different" from the modern sap-eating primates, and the long, thin lower jaw seems too weak for chomping on tree bark.[2]

Discovery

The fossil of Agilodocodon scansorius,

scansorial lifestyle.[1]

References