Triisodon

Triisodon
Temporal range: 63.3–61.7 Ma
↓
Torrejonian[1]
T. quivirensis skull, National Museum of Natural History
Restoration of T. quivirensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Mesonychia
Family: †Triisodontidae
Genus: †Triisodon
Cope, 1881
Type species
Triisodon quivirensis
Cope, 1881
Species
  • T. quivirensis (Cope, 1881)
  • T. crassicuspis (Cope, 1882)
Synonyms
  • T. antiquus (Cope, 1882)
  • T. rusticus (Cope, 1883)

Triisodon (ancient Greek: “Tri” (three),”isos” (equal), and modern Greek: “donti” (tooth/teeth), supposedly describing tritubercular lower cheek teeth) is a genus of extinct mesonychian mammal that existed during the Early Paleocene of New Mexico, North America, from about 63.5-62.0 Ma.[2] The genus was named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1881 as a member of the Acreodi, a now invalid taxon that encompassed creodonts, mesonychians and certain arctocyonians. Cope described the type specimen of T. quivirensis as "about the size of a wolf."[3] A smaller species, T. crassicuspis, has also been identified from the same region. Since material from this genus is incomplete, the exact size of adults and whether they showed sexual dimorphism or regional variations in size is unknown.

  1. ^ "Triisodon". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  2. ^ Toosey, William J.; Williamson, Thomas E.; Shelley, Sarah L.; Brusatte, Stephen L. (2024-11-11). "The osteology of Triisodon crassicuspis (Cope, 1882): New insights into the enigmatic "archaic" placental mammal group "Triisodontidae"". PLOS ONE. 19 (11): e0311187. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0311187. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 11554371.
  3. ^ Cope, E. D. (1881). "On Some Mammalia of the Lowest Eocene Beds of New Mexico". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 19 (109): 484–495. ISSN 0003-049X. JSTOR 982794.