Meniscoessus Temporal range:
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Meniscoessus skull in the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center, Woodland Park, Colorado | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | † Multituberculata |
Family: | † Cimolomyidae |
Genus: | †
Meniscoessus Cope, 1882 |
Species | |
|
Meniscoessus is a genus of extinct multituberculates from the Upper Cretaceous Period that lived in North America.
It is a member of the order Multituberculata, belonging to the suborder Cimolodonta and family Cimolomyidae. The multituberculates were primitive, rodent-like mammals occupying the modern rodent ecological niche. They were significant for having diverged early in mammalian evolution, co-existing with dinosaurs for ~100 million years, surviving through the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event and lasting until the end of the Paleogene, likely having been replaced by true rodents. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Meniscoessus lived during the Santonian, Campanian and Maastrichtian ages of the Upper Cretaceous. This was a period of significant diversification of multiturbiculates, and evidence that contradicts the popular misconception that mammals were unable to thrive due to being outcompeted by the dinosaurs. [5] [6] [7] They are useful as index fossils for the Judithian, Edmontonian, and Lancian faunal stages. [8] Like most early mammals, Meniscoessus fossils mainly consist of teeth. Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska and Jørn Hurum considered them to be the "best known" members of the Cimolomyidae. [9]
The genus Meniscoessus was named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1882. [10] Members of this genus have been previously classified under the following genus names: Cimolomys (partly); Dipriodon ; Halodon; Oracodon; Moeniscoessus; Selenacodon (partly); and Tripriodon. As Osborn pointed out in 1891, a number of erroneous discoveries had been made as a result of analyzing different teeth of the same animal, different individuals of the same species, and violating the principle of priority due to workers ignoring previously published discoveries. [11]
There may have been confusion with some teeth described as belonging to small carnivorous dinosaurs. [ citation needed] These were further christened Dipriodon, Tripriodon, and others, including Triprotodon.[ citation needed] Close similarities were then noticed with an already established dinosaur genus, Paronychodon (Cope 1876), also based on teeth from the Laramie Formation. [ citation needed] Over time, an impressive school of names was synonymized under P. However, this is now considered a nomen dubium.
Several other names have been in circulation, such as Meniscoessus bustus, and Meniscoessus coelatus. The first is probably a variant of M. robustus, while the latter seems to have been connected with dinosaur teeth. [ citation needed]
Meniscoessus Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Meniscoessus skull in the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center, Woodland Park, Colorado | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | † Multituberculata |
Family: | † Cimolomyidae |
Genus: | †
Meniscoessus Cope, 1882 |
Species | |
|
Meniscoessus is a genus of extinct multituberculates from the Upper Cretaceous Period that lived in North America.
It is a member of the order Multituberculata, belonging to the suborder Cimolodonta and family Cimolomyidae. The multituberculates were primitive, rodent-like mammals occupying the modern rodent ecological niche. They were significant for having diverged early in mammalian evolution, co-existing with dinosaurs for ~100 million years, surviving through the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event and lasting until the end of the Paleogene, likely having been replaced by true rodents. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Meniscoessus lived during the Santonian, Campanian and Maastrichtian ages of the Upper Cretaceous. This was a period of significant diversification of multiturbiculates, and evidence that contradicts the popular misconception that mammals were unable to thrive due to being outcompeted by the dinosaurs. [5] [6] [7] They are useful as index fossils for the Judithian, Edmontonian, and Lancian faunal stages. [8] Like most early mammals, Meniscoessus fossils mainly consist of teeth. Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska and Jørn Hurum considered them to be the "best known" members of the Cimolomyidae. [9]
The genus Meniscoessus was named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1882. [10] Members of this genus have been previously classified under the following genus names: Cimolomys (partly); Dipriodon ; Halodon; Oracodon; Moeniscoessus; Selenacodon (partly); and Tripriodon. As Osborn pointed out in 1891, a number of erroneous discoveries had been made as a result of analyzing different teeth of the same animal, different individuals of the same species, and violating the principle of priority due to workers ignoring previously published discoveries. [11]
There may have been confusion with some teeth described as belonging to small carnivorous dinosaurs. [ citation needed] These were further christened Dipriodon, Tripriodon, and others, including Triprotodon.[ citation needed] Close similarities were then noticed with an already established dinosaur genus, Paronychodon (Cope 1876), also based on teeth from the Laramie Formation. [ citation needed] Over time, an impressive school of names was synonymized under P. However, this is now considered a nomen dubium.
Several other names have been in circulation, such as Meniscoessus bustus, and Meniscoessus coelatus. The first is probably a variant of M. robustus, while the latter seems to have been connected with dinosaur teeth. [ citation needed]