''Prochetodon'' is a genus of

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 from the

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

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 ...

. It lived during the Upper

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), ...

and the Lower

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 ...

in North America. The genus was formally named by G. L. Jepsen in 1940. ( Jepsen, 1940)

''P. cavus''

The

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

''Prochetodon cavus'' weighed about 135 g. Remains have been discovered 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 ...

, in the United States. They were found in the Princeton Quarry, and the deposits were dated from the Upper Paleocene to the Lower Eocene. Material 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 ...

at Yale. The species was named by G. L. Jepsen in 1940. ( Jepsen, 1940)

''P. foxi''

The species ''Prochetodon foxi'' weighed about 200 g. Remains have been discovered in Wyoming 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 ...

in the United States, in the Long Draw Quarry, and in the

Swan Hills Swan Hills is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is in the eponymous Swan Hills (Alberta), Swan Hills, approximately north of Whitecourt and northwest of Fort Assiniboine. The town is at the junction of Alberta Highway 32, Highway 32 and Alb ...

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. The

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 ...

are dated to the Upper Paleocene. The species was named by David. W. Krause in 1987. ( Krause, 1987)

''P. taxus''

The species ''Prochetodon taxus'' weighed about 190 g. Remains have been discovered in Wyoming, in the United States, in the deposits of Clark's Fork Basin, which have been dated to the Upper Paleocene. David Krause first tentatively referred to the species ''P. cf. cavus'' in 1980, and then gave it its current classification in 1987. ( Krause, 1987)

References

* G. L. Jepsen (1940). "Paleocene faunas of the Polecat Bench formation, Park County, Wyoming". ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' 83, pg. 217–340. * Z. Kielan-Jaworowska & J. H. Hurum (2001). "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals". ''Paleontology'' 44, pg. 389–429. * David W. Krause (1987). Systematic revision of the genus ''Prochetodon'' (Ptilodontidae, Multituberculata) from the late Paleocene and early Eocene of western North America. ''Contributions from the Museum of Paleont, University of Michigan'' 27(8), pg. 221–236. * Much of this information has been derived fro
MESOZOIC MAMMALS: Ptilodontoidea
an Internet directory. {{Taxonbar, from=Q778375 Ptilodontoidea Paleocene mammals Eocene mammals Eocene genus extinctions Fossils of the United States Prehistoric mammal genera