Pantodonta

Pantodonta
Pantolambda
Temporal occurrence
Paleocene to Late Eocene
63.3 to 33.9 million years
Locations
China North America South America Antarctic
Systematics
Amniotes (Amniota) Synapsids (Synapsida) Mammals (mammalia) Higher mammals (Eutheria) Laurasiatheria Pantodonta
Scientific name
Pantodonta
Cope , 1873

The pantodonta are an extinct group of mammals . They are the first larger herbivorous mammals to appear on the fossil record . Pantodonts can first be detected in the Shanhuang Formation from the early Paleocene of China. Bemalambda had a skull eight inches long and the size of a large dog. In North America, the group appeared in the mid-Paleocene and lived until the mid- Eocene . Representatives such as Coryphodon and Titanoides reached the size of a rhinoceros . However, there were also small species that weighed less than 10 kg. The Pantodonta have also been found in the Paleocene of South America and the Eocene of the Antarctic.

features

The pantodonts were a very diverse group, ranging from lightly built species, such as the possibly tree-dwelling Archaeolambda , to the long-tailed Barylambda , resembling a small giant sloth , to the rhino or hippopotamus-like forms in North America already mentioned. One species probably had a short trunk. The limbs were mostly short and stocky, all five toes were still there. They usually ended in small hooves, with Titanoides in short claws. The dentition of the pantodonta is still complete, without diastemas (interdental spaces). The molars , which had W-shaped sharp edges, are characteristic. The teeth of the fossils found show little wear, which suggests soft plant food.

Familys

Ten families have been described, the most primitive being the Bemalambdidae. All others are grouped together as Eupantodontia.

Coryphodon

• Bemalambdidae
• Eupantodontia
  • Archaeolambdidae
  • Barylambdidae
  • Coryphodontidae
  • Cyriacotheriidae
  • Harpyodidae
  • Pantolambdidae
  • Pantolambdodontidae
  • Pastoralodontidae
  • Titanoideidae

literature

• Thomas S. Kemp: The Origin & Evolution of Mammals. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2005. ISBN 0-19-850761-5 .
• Robert L. Carroll: Paleontology and Evolution of the Vertebrates. Thieme, Stuttgart 1993. ISBN 3-13-774401-6

Web links

Commons : Pantodonta  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Mikko's Phylogeny Archive Pantodonta
• The Paleobiology Database Pantodonta
• Pantodonts, uintatheres and xenungulates: The first large herbivorous mammals