Psalodon

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Psalodon
Fossil range: Late Jurassic
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Multituberculata
Family: Allodontidae
Genus: Psalodon
Simpson, 1926
Species
  • P. fortis
  • P. marshi (?)
  • P. portens

Psalodon is an extinct genus of North American mammal that lived during the Upper Jurassic period. It's a member of the family Allodontidae within the order Multituberculata. The genus Psalodon was named by Simpson in 1926. There are perhaps three species. It is also known as Allodon ("different tooth") and Ctenacodon ("comb tooth").

[edit] Species

The species Psalodon fortis was named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1887 and G. G. Simpson in 1927. It is also known as Allodon fortis (Marsh 1887). Remains have been found in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Wyoming (USA). The holotype is at the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University.

The uncertain species ?Psalodon marshi was named by Simpson G.G. in 1929 to cover several Peabody specimens of possible P. species. All of the remains came from the Morrison Formation of Wyoming.

The species Psalodon portens was named by Marsh O.C. in 1887 and Simpson G.G. in 1927. It is also known as Ctenacodon portens (Marsh 1887). The remains assigned to this species were also found in the Morrison Formation of Wyoming and the holotype is also at Yale.

[edit] References

  • Simpson (1927), Mesozoic Mammalia. VII. "Taxonomy of Morrison multituberculates". Am. J. Sci. (5) xiv: 36-38.
  • Marsh (1887), "American Jurassic mammals". Am. J. Sci. (3) xxxiii: p.326-348.
  • Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Hurum JH (2001), "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals". Paleontology 44, p.389-429.
  • Much of this information has been derived from [1] MESOZOIC MAMMALS: Basal Multituberculata, an Internet directory.