''Escavadodon'' ("tooth from Escavada") is an extinct genus of

pangolin Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (, from Ancient Greek ϕολιδωτός – "clad in scales"). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: ''Manis'', '' Phataginus'', and '' Smuts ...

-like

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...

mammal which was endemic to North America during the

Early Paleocene The Danian is the oldest age or lowest stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series, of the Paleogene Period or System, and of the Cenozoic Era or Erathem. The beginning of the Danian (and the end of the preceding Maastrichtian) is at the Cret ...

(

Torrejonian The Torrejonian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages The North American land mammal ages (NALMA) establishes a geologic timescale for North American fa ...

in the NALMA classification), from approximately 63.8 to 60.9 Ma, existing for approximately .Paleobiology Database: Escavadodontidae basic info.
/ref> It contains a single species, ''Escavadodon zygus''.

Taxonomy

The monotypic family Escavadodontidae was erected by Rose and Lucas in 2000 to hold the type species, recovered from the

Nacimiento Formation The Nacimiento Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the San Juan Basin of western New Mexico ( United States). It has an age of 61 to 65.7 million years, corresponding to the early and middle Paleocene. The formation has yielde ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

Phylogenetic tree

The phylogenetic relationships of genus ''Escavadodon'' is shown in the following cladogram:

References

Palaeanodonta Paleocene mammals of North America Torrejonian Fossils of the United States Paleontology in New Mexico Fossil taxa described in 2000 {{Paleo-mammal-stub