Kuehneotheriidae is an extinct family of

mammaliaform Mammaliaformes ("mammalian forms") is a clade that contains the crown group mammals and their closest extinct relatives; the group radiated from earlier probainognathian cynodonts. It is defined as the clade originating from the most recent comm ...

s traditionally placed within '

Symmetrodonta Symmetrodonta is a group of Mesozoic mammals and mammal-like synapsids characterized by the triangular aspect of the molars when viewed from above, and the absence of a well-developed talonid. The traditional group of 'symmetrodonts' ranges in a ...

', though now generally considered more basal than true symmetrodonts. All members of Kuehneotheriidae which have been found so far are represented only by teeth, but these teeth have features which have led

paleontologists Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

to classify kuehneotheriids as very close relatives of the first true

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur ...

s. But fossil clades based solely on teeth often lead to difficulties ( Ausktribosphenidae being a good example), and it is not possible to draw significant conclusions about mammalian evolution from Kuehneotheriidae unless some more complete skeletons are found.

References

Prehistoric mammaliaforms Prehistoric therapsid families Late Triassic first appearances Early Jurassic extinctions {{paleo-therapsid-stub

See also

References