''Thereuodon'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

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 ...

known from the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous (geochronology, geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic name) is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 143.1 ...

of southern

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The type species, named by Denise Sigogneau-Russell in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

for teeth from the earliest Cretaceous

Ksar Metlili Formation The Ksar Metlili Formation is a geological formation in eastern High Atlas of Morocco, it is late Tithonian to Berriasian in age. It is approximately thick and primarily consists of mudstone and sandstone, with thin calcareous beds. One of these ...

of Morocco, is ''Thereuodon dahmani'', while the referred species named by Sigogneau-Russell and Paul Ensom for teeth from the

Lulworth Formation The Lulworth Formation is a geologic formation in England. It dates from the late Tithonian to the mid Berriasian. It is a subunit of the Purbeck Group. In Dorset, it consists of three members, which are in ascending order, the Mupe Member, the ...

of England is ''Thereuodon taraktes''. The two species are separated by a break in the cingulum in ''T. dahmani'', a more obtuse medial crest in ''T. taraktes'', a duller stylocone in ''T. taraktes'', a "c" cuspule in ''T. dahmani'', and a reduced facet A in ''T. taraktes''. The genus ''Thereuodon'' is the only taxon in the

symmetrodont Symmetrodonta is a group of Mesozoic mammals and mammal-like synapsids characterized by the triangular aspect of the molars when viewed from above, and the absence of a well-developed talonid. The traditional group of 'symmetrodonts' ranges in ...

family Thereuodontidae, which may be closely related to

Spalacotheriidae Spalacotheriidae is a family of extinct mammals belonging to the paraphyletic group ' Symmetrodonta'. They lasted from the Early Cretaceous to the Campanian in North America, Europe, Asia and North Africa. Spalacotheriids are characterised by ha ...

. A tooth referred to ''T. cf. taraktes'' is known from the Berriasian aged

Angeac-Charente bonebed The Angeac-Charente bonebed is a fossil deposit located near Angeac-Charente in western France. It dates to the Berriasian stage of the Early Cretaceous, and is coeval with the Purbeck Group of Southern England. It has amongst the most diverse asse ...

of France.

References

Early Cretaceous mammals Symmetrodonta Prehistoric mammal genera {{cretaceous-mammal-stub