Reigitherium

Reigitherium Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, Campanian–Maastrichtian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Clade:	†Meridiolestida
Clade:	† Mesungulatoidea
Family:	†Reigitheriidae Bonaparte, 1990
Genus:	†Reigitherium Bonaparte, 1990[1]
Species:	†R. bunodontum
Binomial name
†Reigitherium bunodontum Bonaparte, 1990

Reigitherium was a

The original specimen of Reigitherium was a fragmentary single molar tooth, with a lot of the surface detail damaged.[1] It was mistakenly identified as an upper left molar, but new material - including a whole tooth row of this species - clarifies that it was a lower right tooth.^[2]

Reigitherium was a small mammal with simple premolars that increased in size along the tooth row to an enlarged fourth premolar. The molar teeth them decreased in size along the tooth row.

Taxonomy

Reigitherium has proven difficult to classify until recently, because the original fossil material was sparse, damaged, and difficult to identify. It was initially thought to be a

A recent phylogenetic study finds it to be the sister taxon to Peligrotherium.^[2] Although the latter is much larger than Reigitherium, they share many tooth and skull characteristics that indicate they are closely related.

References