Cyrtlatherium

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Cyrtlatherium
Temporal range:
Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Therapsida
Clade: Cynodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Order: Docodonta
Family:
Docodontidae
Genus: Cyrtlatherium
Freeman, 1979
Species:
C. canei
Binomial name
Cyrtlatherium canei
Freeman, 1979

Cyrtlatherium is a dubious genus of extinct

mammaliaform from the Middle Jurassic rocks of Oxfordshire
, England. As it is only known from a few isolated molar teeth, there is disagreement about whether Cyrtlatherium is a separate genus, or whether it is a synonym and the molar teeth are the milk teeth of another genus of docodont.

Cyrtlatherium was named from a few single molar teeth found in the

kuehneotheriid,[1] but were later reclassified as belonging to a docodont.[2] When reclassifying it, Sigogneau-Russell argued that it was the milk tooth of a previously named docodont called Simpsonodon
. This is now generally accepted to be the case by most mammal palaeontologists.

References

  1. ^ Freeman EF. 1979. A Middle Jurassic mammal bed from Oxfordshire. Palaeontology 22:135-166
  2. ^ Sigogneau-Russell D. 2001 Docodont nature of Cyrtlatherium, an upper Bathonian mammal from England. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 46:429-430