''Stylidens'' is an extinct genus of

mammaliaform Mammaliaformes ("mammalian forms") is a clade that contains the crown group mammals and their closest extinct relatives; the group radiated from earlier probainognathian cynodonts. It is defined as the clade originating from the most recent ...

s, possibly belonging to

Morganucodonta Morganucodonta (" Glamorgan teeth") is an extinct order of basal Mammaliaformes, a group including crown-group mammals (Mammalia) and their close relatives. Their remains have been found in Southern Africa, Western Europe, North America, Indi ...

, that lived in what is now

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

during the

Middle Jurassic The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations ...

. Its

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

species is ''Stylidens hookeri'', which was named in 2016 by

Percy M. Butler Percy Milton Butler (19 July 1912 – 7 February 2015) was a British zoologist and palaeontologist. He proposed that dental characters are expressed in morphogenetic gradients along the dentition, which could therefore be used to study evoluti ...

and

Denise Sigogneau-Russell Denise Sigogneau-Russell (born ''c.'' 1941/42) is a French palaeontologist who specialises in mammals from the Mesozoic, particularly from France and the UK. She is currently based at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Background Denise S ...

from an isolated lower molar found at the

Forest Marble Formation The Forest Marble is a geological formation in England. Part of the Great Oolite Group, it dates to the late Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Middle Jurassic, Europe)." In: Weish ...

. A second molar referable to the genus is also known, which may represent a separate species.

Etymology

The generic epithet ''Stylidens'' is derived from the Latin words , alluding to the pointed cusps of its molars, and , meaning "tooth". The specific name ''hookeri'' honours the British researcher Jerry Hooker.

References

Morganucodonts Prehistoric cynodont genera Jurassic synapsids of Europe Bathonian life Jurassic England Fossils of England Fossil taxa described in 2016 Taxa named by Percy M. Butler Taxa named by Denise Sigogneau‐Russell {{Paleo-therapsid-stub