Kuehneotheriidae is an extinct family of

mammaliaform Mammaliaformes ("mammalian forms") is a clade of synapsid tetrapods that includes the crown group mammals and their closest extinct relatives; the group radiated from earlier probainognathian cynodonts during the Late Triassic. It is defined a ...

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 ...

', 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 to classify kuehneotheriids as very close relatives of the first true

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

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

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

See also

References