Docodon

▪ paleontology

      extinct genus of mammals (mammal) originally known only from fossilized teeth. The dentition patterns of the cusps and other molar structures are complex and distinct, resembling those of modern mammals; however, Docodon and its close relatives, the docodonts, are only distantly related to living mammal groups. Whether or not these animals are considered mammals is a controversial matter—Docodon fits only the broadest definition of mammal, having the typical mammalian jaw joint between the dentary and squamosal bones.

      Docodonts are found in European and North American deposits of the Middle and Upper Jurassic Period (176–145.5 million years ago). The best-known docodont is Haldanodon from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal. Haldanodon is recognized from a virtually complete skeleton that suggests that it was fossorial, or burrowing.

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