Taeniolabis

Taeniolabis
Temporal range: Danian, 65–64 Ma
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Taeniolabis taoensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Multituberculata
Family: †Taeniolabididae
Genus: †Taeniolabis
Cope, 1882
Type species
Taeniolabis taoensis
Cope, 1882
Other species

Taeniolabis ("banded incisor")[2] is a genus of extinct multituberculate mammal from the Paleocene of North America.

Description

Restoration of T. taoensis
Taeniolabis taoensis skull, Am. Mus. 16321.

Taeniolabis is a member of the Taeniolabidoidea, a superfamily of multituberculates that are known for their highly derived teeth, and a short wide snout with a blocky head.[3] The teeth modifications were likely an adaptation for herbivory that may have resulted from rapid diversification of angiosperms at the very end of the Cretaceous, which would thus have created opportunities for novel specialization in herbivores.[4] It is the largest known multituberculate, as well as the largest allotherian mammal,[5][6] with T. taoensis weighing up to 34 kilograms (75 lb).[7] Species under this genus have been known under other names.[8] Taeniolabis taoensis is found frequently enough and in a very limited time range that it can be used as an index fossil for the Puercan faunal stage within Danian aged fossil deposits.[9][10]

Taxonomy

History

It is within the suborder of Cimolodonta and is a member of the superfamily Taeniolabidoidea. The genus was named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1882.[11] Species have also been placed with the genera Catopsalis and Polymastodon.

Species

  • Taeniolabis lamberti was named by Nancy Simmons in 1987.[12] It has been found in the Danian aged Tullock Formation of Montana. It is not quite as large as T. taoensis, but still a hefty size for a multituberculate, weighing around 11 kilograms (24 lb).[13]
Life reconstruction of Taeniolabis taoensis
  • Taeniolabis taoensis was originally named Taeniolabis sulcatus by Cope in 1882 as the type species of the genus.[14] It was later renamed as T. taoensis. Known fossils date to approximately 64 million years of age.[15] They are found in Danian aged deposits of the Nacimiento Formation of New Mexico, the Ravenscrag Formation of Saskatchewan and the Denver Formation of Colorado.[16] This species likely had a roughly16 centimetres (6.3 in) long skull and had an average body mass of 22.7 kilograms (50 lb), which is approximately the size of a modern beaver. The species was once considered to have had a body mass of up to 100 kg and sized like a sheep[17] or larger by extrapolating body size on the basis of their huge teeth. However, improved analyses and the realization that the teeth were extraordinarily robust due to herbivory rather has generally disproved that.[18][19]

Notes

  1. ^ Simmons 1987, pp 802-804
  2. ^ Palmer 1904, p 659. From Greek
  3. ^ Kielan-Jawoworska and Hurum, 2001
  4. ^ Wilson et al, 2012, pp 458-459
  5. ^ Rose 2006, p 60
  6. ^ Krause et al 2021, p 1085
  7. ^ T. R. Lyson; I. M. Miller; A. D. Bercovici; K. Weissenburger; A. J. Fuentes; W. C. Clyde; J. W. Hagadorn; M. J. Butrim; K. R. Johnson; R. F. Fleming; R. S. Barclay; S. A. Maccracken; B. Lloyd; G. P. Wilson; D. W. Krause; S. G. B. Chester (October 2019). "Exceptional continental record of biotic recovery after the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction". Science. 366 (6468): 977–983. doi:10.1126/science.aay2268. PMID 31649141. S2CID 204883579.
  8. ^ Palebiology Database
  9. ^ Simmons 1987
  10. ^ Krause et al 2021, p 1085
  11. ^ Cope 1882, pg 604-605
  12. ^ Simmons 1987, pp 802-804
  13. ^ Wilson, G. P. (2013). "Mammals across the K/Pg boundary in northeastern Montana, U.S.A.: Dental morphology and body-size patterns reveal extinction selectivity and immigrant-fueled ecospace filling". Paleobiology. 39 (3): 429–469. Bibcode:2013Pbio...39..429W. doi:10.1666/12041. S2CID 36025237.
  14. ^ Cope 1882, pg 604-605
  15. ^ Wilson et al, 2012 Supplemental Table 5
  16. ^ Krause et al 2021, p 1086
  17. ^ Cope 1882, p 605
  18. ^ Krause et al 2021, p 1085 with lengthy discussion about estimates of size
  19. ^ Wilson et al, 2012 Supplemental Table 5

References

  • "Taeniolabis". The Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  • Cope, E.D. (1882). "Geology and Paleontology, A new genus of Taeniodonta". American Naturalist. 16 (7): 604–605.

Further reading

  • Cope, E.D. (1882). "Mammalia in the Laramie Formation". American Naturalist. 16 (10): 830–831.
  • Kielan-Jaworowska, Zofia; Hurum, J.H. (2001). "Phylogeny and Systematics of Multituberculate Mammals". Palaeontology. 44 (3): 389–429. Bibcode:2001Palgy..44..389K. doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00185.
  • Osborn and Earle (1895), "Fossil mammals of the Puerco beds." Collection of 1892. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. VII, p. 1-70, with 21 figs.
  • Granger and Simpson (1929), "A revision of the Tertiary Multituberculata." Bulletin Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 56, p. 601-676, 43 figs.