Taeniolabis
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Taeniolabis ("banded incisor")<ref>Palmer 1904, p 659. From Greek</ref> is a genus of extinct multituberculate mammal from the Paleocene of North America.
Description
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.<ref>Kielan-Jawoworska and Hurum, 2001</ref> 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.<ref>Wilson et al, 2012, pp 458-459</ref> T. taoensis possessed an elongate, gently curved cochlear canal and an enlarged vestibule.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It is the largest known multituberculate, as well as the largest allotherian mammal,<ref>Rose 2006, p 60</ref><ref>Krause et al 2021, p 1085</ref> with T. taoensis weighing up to Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Species under this genus have been known under other names.<ref>Palebiology Database</ref> 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.<ref>Simmons 1987</ref><ref>Krause et al 2021, p 1085</ref>
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.<ref>Cope 1882, pg 604-605</ref> Species have also been placed with the genera Catopsalis and Polymastodon.
Species
- Taeniolabis lamberti was named by Nancy Simmons in 1987.<ref>Simmons 1987, pp 802-804</ref> 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 Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- Taeniolabis taoensis was originally named Taeniolabis sulcatus by Cope in 1882 as the type species of the genus.<ref>Cope 1882, pg 604-605</ref> It was later renamed as T. taoensis. Known fossils date to approximately 64 million years of age.<ref>Wilson et al, 2012 Supplemental Table 5</ref> 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.<ref>Krause et al 2021, p 1086</ref> This species likely had a roughlyTemplate:Convert long skull and had an average body mass of Template:Convert, 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<ref>Cope 1882, p 605</ref> 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.<ref>Krause et al 2021, p 1085 with lengthy discussion about estimates of size</ref><ref>Wilson et al, 2012 Supplemental Table 5</ref>
Notes
References
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Further reading
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- 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.