Mesodmops
Encyclopedia
Mesodmops is a genus
of small mammal
from the Eocene
of China
. It was a late member of the extinct order of Multituberculata
. It's within the suborder of Cimolodonta
and family Neoplagiaulacidae
. The genus was named by Y. Tong and T. Wang in 1994.
The primary species is Mesodmops dawsonae, also named by Tong and Wang. It has been found in the Lower Eocene of the Wutu Basin in Shandong, China.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of small mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
from the Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. It was a late member of the extinct order of Multituberculata
Multituberculata
The Multituberculata were a group of rodent-like mammals that existed for approximately one hundred and twenty million years—the longest fossil history of any mammal lineage—but were eventually outcompeted by rodents, becoming extinct during the early Oligocene. At least 200 species are...
. It's within the suborder of Cimolodonta
Cimolodonta
The Cimolodonta are a taxon of extinct mammals that lived from the Cretaceous to the Eocene. They were some of the more derived members of the extinct order Multituberculata. They probably lived something of a rodent-like existence until their ecological niche was assumed by true rodents...
and family Neoplagiaulacidae
Neoplagiaulacidae
Neoplagiaulacidae is a family of mammal within the extinct order Multituberculata. Fossil remains are known from the Upper Cretaceous through the Eocene. Representatives have been found in North America, Europe and Asia....
. The genus was named by Y. Tong and T. Wang in 1994.
The primary species is Mesodmops dawsonae, also named by Tong and Wang. It has been found in the Lower Eocene of the Wutu Basin in Shandong, China.