''Kopidodon'' is a genus of extinct

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

-like

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 belonging to the order

Cimolesta Cimolesta is an extinct order of non-placental eutherian mammals. Cimolestans had a wide variety of body shapes, dentition and lifestyles, though the majority of them were small to medium-sized general mammals that bore superficial resemblances t ...

. ''Kopidodon'' was one of the largest tree-dwelling mammals known from

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

: growing 115 centimeters long (most of that length is tail). This mammal sported large

canine teeth In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dogteeth, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. In the context of the upper jaw, they are also known as '' fangs''. They can appear more fl ...

, probably for defense, since its molars were adapted for chewing plants, not flesh. Its legs and claws allowed ''Kopidodon'' to scramble through the trees with the greatest of ease, much like modern-day squirrels. Its fossils were found in the

Messel pit The Messel Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in Hesse, central Germany, dating back to the Eocene Epoch (geology), epoch (about 47 Ma). Its geographic range is restricted to the Messel pit. There it unconformably overlie ...

, preserving even its fur. ''Kopidodon'' had a thick bushy tail for balance.William A. Clemens and Wighart von Koenigswald: A new skeleton of ''Kopidodon macrognathus'' from the Middle Eocene of Messel and the relationship of paroxyclaenids and pantolestids based on postcranial evidence. ''Kaupia'' 3, 1993, S. 57–73

References

Cimolestans Eocene mammals Eocene mammals of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1902 Prehistoric mammal genera {{paleo-mammal-stub