Aleodon

Aleodon
Temporal range: Ladinian-Early Carnian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Therapsida
Clade: Cynodontia
Family: Chiniquodontidae
Genus: Aleodon
Crompton, 1955
Type species
Aleodon brachyrhamphus
Crompton, 1955
Other species
  • A. cromptoni Martinelli et al., 2017

Aleodon is an extinct genus of cynodonts that lived from the Middle to the Late Triassic. Relatively few analyses have been conducted to identify the phylogenetic placement of Aleodon, however those that have place Aleodon as a sister taxon to Chiniquodon.[1] Two species of Aleodon are recognized: A. brachyramphus which was discovered in Tanzania, and A. cromptoni which was discovered most recently in Brazil.

The name for the genus Aleodon was created when Alfred W. "Fuzz" Crompton initially discovered the type species, Aleodon brachyramphus. The genus name, "Aleodon" referred to the grinding nature of the postcanine teeth, while "brachyramphus" referred to the relatively short snout of the specimen.[2] The most recently discovered species, A. cromptoni was named after Crompton.[1]

  1. ^ a b Martinelli, A.G.; Kammerer, C.F.; Melo, T.P.; Paes Neto, V.D.; Ribeiro, A.M.; Da-Rosa, Á.A.S.; Schultz, C.L.; Soares, M.B. (2017). "The African cynodont Aleodon (Cynodontia, Probainognathia) in the Triassic of southern Brazil and its biostratigraphic significance". PLOS ONE. 12 (6): e0177948. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1277948M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0177948. PMC 5470689. PMID 28614355.
  2. ^ Crompton, Alfred (1955). "On some Triassic Cynodonts from Tanganyika". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 125 (3–4): 617–669. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1955.tb00620.x.