Mimetodon
Encyclopedia
Mimetodon is a small mammal
from the Paleocene
of North America
and perhaps Europe
. It was a member of the extinct order Multituberculata
within the suborder Cimolodonta
and family Neoplagiaulacidae
.
The genus Mimetodon was named by Jepsen G.L. in 1940. It has also been known as Ectypodus (partly); Mesodma
(partly); Neoplagiaulax
(partly). McKenna and Bell (1997) lists possible material from the Upper Paleocene(?) of Europe.
of Princeton Quarry in Wyoming
(USA). The holotype
is in the collection of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University
.
The species Mimetodon krausei was named by Sloan R.E. in 1981. Remains were found in the Puercan (Lower Paleocene)-age strata of the San Juan Basin of New Mexico
(USA). This holotype
's also in the collection of the Peabody Museum, Yale.
The species ? Mimetodon nanophus was named by Holtzman in 1978. It has also been known as Neoplagiaulax nanophus (Holtzman 1978). Remains were found in the Middle-Upper Paleocene-age strata of the Tongue River Formation in North Dakota
(USA). This might be the same as M. silberlingi.
The species Mimetodon silberlingi was named by Simpson G.G. in 1935 and Schiebout in 1974. It has also been known as Ectypodus? silberlingi (Simpson 1935d); Mesodma silberlingi (Van Valen & Sloan 1966); and ?M. nanophus. Remains were found in the Torrejonian-Tiffanian (Middle Paleocene)-age strata in the Gidley Quarry of Montana
and in Wyoming, North Dakota and Alberta
, Canada
. This species weighed an estimated 20 g.
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
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
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and perhaps Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It was a member of the extinct order Multituberculata
Multituberculata
The Multituberculata were a group of rodent-like mammals that existed for approximately one hundred and twenty million years—the longest fossil history of any mammal lineage—but were eventually outcompeted by rodents, becoming extinct during the early Oligocene. At least 200 species are...
within the suborder Cimolodonta
Cimolodonta
The Cimolodonta are a taxon of extinct mammals that lived from the Cretaceous to the Eocene. They were some of the more derived members of the extinct order Multituberculata. They probably lived something of a rodent-like existence until their ecological niche was assumed by true rodents...
and family Neoplagiaulacidae
Neoplagiaulacidae
Neoplagiaulacidae is a family of mammal within the extinct order Multituberculata. Fossil remains are known from the Upper Cretaceous through the Eocene. Representatives have been found in North America, Europe and Asia....
.
The genus Mimetodon was named by Jepsen G.L. in 1940. It has also been known as Ectypodus (partly); Mesodma
Mesodma
Mesodma is an extinct genus of mammal, a member of the extinct order Multituberculata within the suborder Cimolodonta, family Neoplagiaulacidae. It lived during the upper Cretaceous and Paleocene Periods of what is now North America...
(partly); Neoplagiaulax
Neoplagiaulax
Neoplagiaulax is a mammal genus from the Paleocene of Europe and North America. In the case of the latter continent, there may possibly be some slightly earlier, Upper Cretaceous material too. It existed in the age immediately following the extinction of the last dinosaurs...
(partly). McKenna and Bell (1997) lists possible material from the Upper Paleocene(?) of Europe.
Species
The species Mimetodon churchilli was named by Jepsen G.L. in 1940. Remains were found in the Tiffanian (Middle Paleocene)-age strataStratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
of Princeton Quarry in Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
(USA). The holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
is in the collection of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
The species Mimetodon krausei was named by Sloan R.E. in 1981. Remains were found in the Puercan (Lower Paleocene)-age strata of the San Juan Basin of New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
(USA). This holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
's also in the collection of the Peabody Museum, Yale.
The species ? Mimetodon nanophus was named by Holtzman in 1978. It has also been known as Neoplagiaulax nanophus (Holtzman 1978). Remains were found in the Middle-Upper Paleocene-age strata of the Tongue River Formation in North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
(USA). This might be the same as M. silberlingi.
The species Mimetodon silberlingi was named by Simpson G.G. in 1935 and Schiebout in 1974. It has also been known as Ectypodus? silberlingi (Simpson 1935d); Mesodma silberlingi (Van Valen & Sloan 1966); and ?M. nanophus. Remains were found in the Torrejonian-Tiffanian (Middle Paleocene)-age strata in the Gidley Quarry of Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and in Wyoming, North Dakota and Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. This species weighed an estimated 20 g.