Xesmodon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Xesmodon Temporal range: Middle-Late Eocene ~ | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Litopterna |
| Family: | †Proterotheriidae |
| Subfamily: | †Anisolambdinae |
| Genus: | †Xesmodon Berg, 1899 |
| Type species | |
| †Xesmodon langi (Roth, 1899) | |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Xesmodon is an extinct genus of mammal. It lived from the Middle to the Late Eocene, in what is today South America.
Xesmodon was named by Carlos Berg in 1899. Its type species is Xesmodon langi, and a second species, Xesmodon prolixus, may also belong to the genus.[1][2] Both species were named by Santiago Roth in 1899. The type and only known specimen of Xesmodon langi is a poorly preserved skull found at the locality Cañadón Colorado in Argentina.[3] The type and only known specimen of Xesmodon prolixus is a fragmentary mandible with two teeth found near Lago Musters in the Chubut Province of Argentina.[3] Both species are from the Mustersan South American land mammal age.[4]
Some researchers classify Xesmodon in Didolodontidae,[2] whereas others classify it in Anisolambdinae, a subfamily of Proterotheriidae.[5] Proterotheriidae is part of the order Litopterna, whereas didolodontids are considered condylarths, albeit likely to be closely related to litopterns.
