Agilodocodon
Agilodocodon | |
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Scientific 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
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Binomial name | |
†Agilodocodon scansorius Meng et al., 2015
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Agilodocodon was a genus of
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]