''Anconodon'' is an extinct

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

from the

Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and thus lived just after the " age of the dinosaurs". It was a member of the extinct order

Multituberculata Multituberculata (commonly known as multituberculates, named for the multiple tubercles of their teeth) is an extinct Order (biology), order of rodent-like mammals with a fossil record spanning over 130 million years. They first appeared in the M ...

within the suborder

Cimolodonta Cimolodonta is a clade of Multituberculata, multituberculate mammals that lived from the Cretaceous to the Eocene. They probably lived something of a rodent-like existence until their ecological niche was assumed by true rodents. The more basal ...

and possibly the family

Cimolodontidae Cimolodontidae is a family of fossil mammals within the extinct order Multituberculata. Representatives are known from the Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene of North America. The family Cimolodontidae was named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1889 and ...

. The genus ''Anconodon'' was named by G. L. Jepsen in 1940. It is also known as ''Ectopodon'' (Russell 1967); ''

Ectypodus ''Ectypodus'' is an extinct genus of mammals, containing the species ''E. aphronorus, E. childei, E. musculus, E. lovei, E. powelli, E. szalayi'', and ''E. tardus''. ''Ectypodus'' was an arboreal omnivore, living in the Paleocene to Eocene of N ...

'' (partly); '' Liotomus'' (partly); and ''

Ptilodus ''Ptilodus'' (meaning "soft-haired") is a genus of mammals from the extinct order of Multituberculata, and lived during the Paleocene in North America. ''Ptilodus'' was a relatively large multituberculate of in length, which is about the same ...

'' (partly).

Species

The species ''Anconodon cochranensis'' was named by Russell in 1929 and Van Valen and Sloan in 1966. It has also been known as ''A. russelli'' (Simpson 1935; Jepsen 1940); ''Ectopodon cochranensis'' (Russel 1967); ''Ectypodus cochranensis'' (Simpson 1937a); ''Ectypodus russelli'' (Simpson 1935d); ''Liotomus russelli''; and ''Ptilodus cochranensis'' (Russell 1929).

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

remains have been found in the Tiffanian (Middle-Upper Paleocene)-age

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

(Canada) and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

(United States). It has been cited as a descendant of ''A. gidleyi''. The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

is in the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

collection. The body mass has been estimated to be about 55 g, the weight of two standard mice. The species ''Anconodon gidleyi'' was named by Simpson G.G. in 1935 and Jepsen G.L. in 1940. It has also been known as ''A. gibleyi'' and ''Ptilodus ?gidleyi'' (Simpson 1935d). Fossil remains have been found in the Torrejonian (Middle-Upper Paleocene)-age strata of the Gidley Quarry in Montana and in Wyoming, New Mexico and Alberta. This species is cited as a possible descendant of '' Cimolodon nitidus''. The species: ''Anconodon lewisi'' was named by Sloan R.E. in 1987. Fossil remains were discovered in the Middle-Upper Paleocene-age strata of Keefer Hill in Wyoming and Douglass Quarry in Montana. The

is from Wyoming.

References

* Simpson (1935), "New Paleocene mammals from the Fort Union of Montana". ''Proc. US Nation. Museum'' 83, p. 221-244. * Jepsen (1940), "Paleocene faunas of the Polecat Bench formation, Park County, Wyoming". ''Pro. Amer. Philos. Soc'' 83, p. 217-340, 21 figs., 5pls. * Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Hurum JH (2001), "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals". ''Paleontology'' 44, p. 389-429. * Much of this information has been derived fro

MESOZOIC MAMMALS: Ptilodontoidea, an Internet directory. {{Taxonbar, from=Q4753104 Ptilodontoidea Paleocene mammals Paleocene genus extinctions Extinct mammals of North America Prehistoric mammal genera