Palaeanodonta


Palaeanodonta is an extinct order of placental mammals in the clade Pholidotamorpha. They were insectivorous, fossorial or semifossorial, and lived from the middle Paleocene to early Oligocene in North America, Europe and Asia. While the taxonomic grouping of Palaeanodonta has been debated, it is widely thought that they are a sister group to pangolins.

Anatomy

Skull

Palaeanodonts generally have low and caudally-broad skulls, with notable lambdoid crests and inflated Tympanic part of the [temporal bone|bullae] and squamosals.

Teeth

Despite the name of the group and contrary to their pangolin relatives, palaeanodonts are known to have had teeth. Early palaeanodonts retained minimal tribosphenic post-canines while later species had peglike or otherwise reduced molar crowns. Many also had large, characteristic cuspids.

Classification and phylogeny

Phylogeny