Pantodonta
Encyclopedia
The Pantodonta are an order
(or, according to some, a suborder) of now extinct placental mammals.
Pantodonts are well known from the Paleocene
of North America and Asia, and one early genus
Alcidedorbignya, that was found in the Paleocene of South America. Pantodonts started out cat-sized in the early Paleocene
, but by early Eocene
, they had become cow-sized herbivores, the largest land mammals of their time. Then they abruptly died out by the middle Eocene.
and the Xenungulata species, unified in one order: the Amblypoda
(which means "blunt foot"). But this old classification turned out to be incorrect, and the species it contained were reclassified into three separate orders. Note that a Cimolestan origin of Dinoceratans may still hold some truth.
Regardless, the pantodonts were almost certainly related to the Carnivora
and pangolin
s and they are sometimes classified as a suborder of Cimolesta
.
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
(or, according to some, a suborder) of now extinct placental mammals.
Pantodonts are well known from the Paleocene
Paleocene
The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...
of North America and Asia, and one early genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Alcidedorbignya, that was found in the Paleocene of South America. Pantodonts started out cat-sized in the early Paleocene
Paleocene
The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...
, but by early Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
, they had become cow-sized herbivores, the largest land mammals of their time. Then they abruptly died out by the middle Eocene.
Classification
In the past, the species now classified as Pantodonta were, together with the DinocerataDinocerata
Dinocerata mammals are an extinct order of plant-eating, rhinoceros-like hoofed creatures famous for their paired horns and tusk-like canine teeth...
and the Xenungulata species, unified in one order: the Amblypoda
Amblypoda
Amblypoda is a taxonomic hypothesis uniting a group of extinct, herbivorous mammals. They were considered a suborder of the primitive ungulate mammals and have since been shown to represent a polyphyletic group.-Characteristics:...
(which means "blunt foot"). But this old classification turned out to be incorrect, and the species it contained were reclassified into three separate orders. Note that a Cimolestan origin of Dinoceratans may still hold some truth.
Regardless, the pantodonts were almost certainly related to the Carnivora
Carnivora
The diverse order Carnivora |Latin]] carō "flesh", + vorāre "to devour") includes over 260 species of placental mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" can refer to any meat-eating animal...
and pangolin
Pangolin
A pangolin , also scaly anteater or Trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. There is only one extant family and one genus of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with...
s and they are sometimes classified as a suborder of Cimolesta
Cimolesta
Cimolesta is an extinct order of mammals. A few experts place the pangolins within Cimolesta, though most other experts prefer to place the pangolins within their own order, Pholidota....
.