Megazostrodon
Sign in to saveMegazostrodon is an extinct genus of basal mammaliaforms belonging to the order Morganucodonta. It is approximately 200 million years old. Two species are known: M. rudnerae from the Early Jurassic of Lesotho and South Africa, and M. chenali from the Late Triassic of France.
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7 sectionsContents
- Discovery
- Characteristics
- Evolution
- Reproduction
- See also
- References
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Megazostrodon is an extinct genus of basal mammaliaforms belonging to the order Morganucodonta. It is approximately 200 million years old. Two species are known: M. rudnerae from the Early Jurassic of Lesotho and South Africa, and M. chenali from the Late Triassic of France.
==Discovery== The type species M. rudnerae was first discovered in 1966 in the Elliot Formation of Lesotho, southern Africa, by palaeontologist and archaeologist Ione Rudner. It was first described by A. W. Crompton and F. A. Jenkins Jr. in 1968. The generic name Megazostrodon means, literally, 'large girdle tooth' (from the Greek mega -large, zostros -girdle and don -tooth—referring to the large external cingula of the upper molars). The specific name honours Rudner for her discovery.