''Mimetodon'' is a small

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 perhaps

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 ...

. 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 family

Neoplagiaulacidae Neoplagiaulacidae is a family of mammal within the extinct order Multituberculata. Fossil remains are known from the Upper Cretaceous through to the latest Eocene/early Oligocene. Representatives have been found in North America, Europe and Asia. ...

. The genus ''Mimetodon'' was named by Jepsen G.L. in 1940. It has also been known as ''

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); ''

Mesodma ''Mesodma'' is an extinct genus of mammal, a member of the extinct order Multituberculata within the suborder Cimolodonta, family Neoplagiaulacidae. It lived during the upper Cretaceous and Paleocene Periods of what is now North America. The ear ...

'' (partly); ''

Neoplagiaulax ''Neoplagiaulax'' is a mammal genus from the Paleocene of Europe and North America. In the case of the latter continent, there may possibly be some slightly earlier, Upper Cretaceous material too. It existed in the age immediately following the e ...

'' (partly). McKenna and Bell (1997) lists possible material from the Upper Paleocene(?) of Europe.

Species

The species ''Mimetodon churchilli'' was named by Jepsen G.L. in 1940. Remains were found in the Tiffanian (Middle 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 ...

of Princeton Quarry in

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). 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 collection of the

Peabody Museum of Natural History The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University (also known as the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History or the Yale Peabody Museum) is one of the oldest, largest, and most prolific university natural history museums in the world. It ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. The species ''Mimetodon krausei'' was named by Sloan R.E. in 1981. Remains were found in the Puercan (Lower Paleocene)-age strata of the San Juan Basin of

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

(United States). This

's also in the collection of the Peabody Museum, Yale. The species ''? Mimetodon nanophus'' was named by Holtzman in 1978. It has also been known as ''Neoplagiaulax nanophus'' (Holtzman 1978). Remains were found in the Middle-Upper Paleocene-age strata of the Tongue River Formation in

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

(United States). This might be the same as ''M. silberlingi''. The species ''Mimetodon silberlingi'' was named by Simpson G.G. in 1935 and Schiebout in 1974. It has also been known as ''Ectypodus? silberlingi'' (Simpson 1935d); ''Mesodma silberlingi'' (Van Valen & Sloan 1966); and ''?M. nanophus''. Remains were found in the Torrejonian-Tiffanian (Middle Paleocene)-age strata in the Gidley Quarry of

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 in Wyoming, North Dakota and

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. This species weighed an estimated 20 g.

References

* Sloan (1981), Systematics of Paleocene multituberculates from the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, p. 127-160, in Lucas et al. (eds), Advances in San Juan Basin paleontology. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. * Holtzman (1978), ''NDGS Reports Invest.'' 65. * 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. * McKenna MC & Bell SK, (1997), "Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level". Columbia University Press. * Much of this information has been derived fro

MESOZOIC MAMMALS: Ptilodontoidea, an Internet directory. {{Taxonbar, from=Q6862083 Ptilodontoidea Paleocene mammals Paleocene genus extinctions Paleogene mammals of Europe Prehistoric mammal genera