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Tritylodontidae
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Tritylodontidae

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Tritylodontidae ("three-knob teeth", named after the shape of their cheek teeth) is an extinct family of small to medium-sized, highly specialized mammal-like cynodonts, with several mammalian traits including erect limbs, endothermy, and some details of the skeleton. They were the last-known family of the non-mammaliaform synapsids, persisting into the Early Cretaceous.

Wikidata facts

Parent taxon
Cynodontia
Image
Oligokyphus BW.jpg
Show 5 more facts
taxon rank
family
Commons category
Tritylodontidae
taxon name
Tritylodontidae
start time
231000000-
end time
113000000-
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~7 min read

Encyclopedic overview

8 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • Discovery
  • Evolutionary history
  • Ecology
  • Phylogeny
  • Genera
  • See also
  • References

Tritylodontidae ("three-knob teeth", named after the shape of their cheek teeth) is an extinct family of small to medium-sized, highly specialized mammal-like cynodonts, with several mammalian traits including erect limbs, endothermy, and some details of the skeleton. They were the last-known family of the non-mammaliaform synapsids, persisting into the Early Cretaceous.

Most tritylodontids are thought to have been herbivorous, feeding on vegetation such as stems, leaves, and roots, although at least one may have had a more omnivorous diet. Tritylodontid fossils are found in the Americas, South Africa, and Eurasia – they appear to have had an almost global distribution, including Antarctica.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Tritylodontidae” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (2)