Stylinodon

Stylinodon Temporal range: Early Eocene–Middle Eocene PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N

Skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Cimolesta
Suborder:	†Taeniodonta
Family:	†Stylinodontidae
Subfamily:	†Stylinodontinae
Genus:	†Stylinodon Marsh, 1874
Type species
†Stylinodon mirus
Species
†Stylinodon inexplicatus †Stylinodon mirus

Restoration of S. mirus

Stylinodon is an extinct genus of taeniodont mammal, and is the best known, and last genus of taeniodonts, lived some 45 million years ago during middle Eocene in North America.

The skull suggests it had a blunt face, and a very short snout. Species ranged in size from pigs to leopards, reached a body mass of up to 80 kilograms (180 lb). Its canines had developed into huge, incisor-like root-less teeth. Stylinodon's molars were covered in enamel and continued growing throughout its life. Most likely, it fed on rough roots and tubers.^[1]

References

↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 237. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

External links

Photograph of skull at Utah Field House of Natural History Museum, at Vernal, Utah

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