Menadon
Extinct genus of cynodonts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Menadon is an extinct genus of traversodontid cynodonts. The type and only species is Menadon besairiei.[1]
| Menadon Temporal range: Late Triassic ~ | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | Cynodontia |
| Family: | †Traversodontidae |
| Subfamily: | †Gomphodontosuchinae |
| Genus: | †Menadon Flynn et al. 2000 |
| Species: | †M. besairiei |
| Binomial name | |
| †Menadon besairiei Flynn et al. 2000 | |
Fossils of Menadon were first found in Isalo II (the Makay Formation) of Madagascar, which preserves sediments from the Middle to Late Triassic period.[1][2] They have also been recovered from the Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin near Santa Cruz do Sul in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.[3]
Menadon was unique among non-mammalian synapsids for the presence of hypsodont (high-crowned) postcanine teeth. Hypsodont teeth grow continuously to counteract high wear caused by a diet of abrasive plant material. Menadon's teeth convergently resemble those of hypsodont xenarthrans such as sloths and armadillos, due to their column-like form and dentine which grows from the crown towards the root.[4]
