Palaeoxonodon
Palaeoxonodon | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | †Amphitheriida |
Family: | †Amphitheriidae |
Genus: | †Palaeoxonodon Freeman, 1976[1] |
Species: | †P. ooliticus
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Binomial name | |
†Palaeoxonodon ooliticus Freeman, 1976
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Synonyms | |
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Palaeoxonodon is an extinct genus of cladotherian mammal from the Middle Jurassic of England[1] and Scotland.[2][3]
Discovery
The first fossils of Palaeoxonodon ooliticus were found in the Kirtlington cement quarry, Oxfordshire, England.[1] This site was rich in Mesozoic mammal remains from the Bathonian Forest Marble Formation. Later, two more species of Palaeoxonodon were named from the same site, P. leesi and P. freemani.[4] All of these fossils were individual teeth.
However, a recent fossil recovered from the
Two dentaries have recently been described.[3]
Description
Palaeoxonodon ooliticus, like most mammals in the Mesozoic, was relatively small. The most complete fossil jaw - from Scotland - measures 11.6mm, but does not include the very front or rear portions of the jaw. The living animal was probably around the size of a mouse and would have been insectivorous.
The teeth of Palaeoxondon have an elongate lower molar
Taxonomy
Palaeoxondon belongs in the order
Biology
Compared to its closest relatives, Palaeoxonodon has rather slender jaws.[3]
References
- ^ a b c E. P. Freeman. 1976. Mammal teeth from the Forest Marble (Middle Jurassic) of Oxfordshire, England. Science 194(4269):1053-1055
- ^ S2CID 85925908.
- ^ doi:10.4202/app.00434.2017.)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ a b Sigogneau-Russell D. 2003. Holotherian mammals from the Forest Marble(Middle Jurassic of England). Geodiversitas, 25, 501–537.