Didolodus

Not to be confused with Diplodocus.

Didolodus
Temporal range: Mid Eocene (Divisaderan)
~40.4–37.2 Ma
↓
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Family: †Didolodontidae
Genus: †Didolodus
Ameghino 1897
Species
  • D. latigonus
  • D. magnus
  • D. minor
  • D. multicuspis (type)
Synonyms
  • Cephanodus Ameghino 1902
  • Lonchoconus Ameghino 1901
  • Nephacodus Ameghino 1902

Didolodus is an extinct genus of mammals from Middle Eocene Argentina. It is an ungulate mammal of uncertain affinities, possibly related to Litopterna, though this is uncertain due to the lack of reliable post-cranial remains, and for now remains Meridiungulata incertae sedis.[1] Its remains were found in the Sarmiento Formation of Patagonia.[2]

Didolodus probably was a quick-footed creature which probably lived like early ungulates such as Propalaeotherium, based on its highly similar teeth. It was around 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) in length, with short limbs and a long tail.[3]

Phylogeny

Cladogram after Gelfo and Sigé, 2011:[4]

References

  1. ^ Javier Nicolás, The alleged astragalar remains of Didolodus Ameghino, 1897 (Mammalia, Panameriungulata) and a critic of isolated bone association models, 2012
  2. ^ Didolodus at Fossilworks.org
  3. ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 246. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  4. ^ Javier N. Gelfo and Bernard Sigé (2011). "A new didolodontid mammal from the late Paleocene–earliest Eocene of Laguna Umayo, Peru" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 56 (4): 665–678. doi:10.4202/app.2010.0067.


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