Triisodon

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

Triisodon is a genus of extinct mesonychian mammal that existed during the Early Paleocene of New Mexico, North America. The genus was named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1881 as a member of the Acreodi, a now invalid taxon that encompassed both creodonts and mesonychians. The premolar teeth have three points, hence the generic name (tri=three, don=tooth).[citation needed] Cope described the type specimen of T. quivirensis as "about the size of a wolf."[2] A smaller species 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. ^ 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.