Tricuspes is an extinct genus

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 cynodont

Cynodont

Cynodontia or cynodonts are a taxon of therapsids which first appeared in the Late Permian and were eventually distributed throughout all seven continents by the Early Triassic . This clade includes modern mammals and their extinct close relatives. They were one of the most diverse groups of...

 that lived in what would be Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 during the Triassic

Triassic

The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...

 from 203.6—199.6 mya, existing for approximately . Three species are known: Tricuspes tubingensis Huene, 1933, Tricuspes sigogneauae Hahn et al 1994 and Tricuspes tapeinodon Godefroit and Battail, 1997, which are all from the Late Triassic (Rhaetian) period in continental Europe.

Places of discovery

Teeth of Tricuspes tubingensis Huene have been found at the following locations:

• Saint-Nicolas-de-Port
  Saint-Nicolas-de-Port
  Saint-Nicolas-de-Port is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département in north-eastern France.Its inhabitants are known asPortois. In the past, the Portois were known as loudmouths; their neighbours across the Meurthe at Varangéville liked to gather on the opposite river bank to bombard them...
  
  
• Medernach
  Medernach
  Medernach is a commune and small town in eastern Luxembourg. It is part of the canton of Diekirch, which is part of the district of Diekirch.Medernach is home to an aerodrome., the township Medernach has a population of 1107....
  
  
• Baden-Württemberg
  Baden-Württemberg
  Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
  
  
• Kanton Schaffhausen

Dentition

This genus is represented only by isolated teeth found in continental Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. Its postcanine molariform teeth are tricuspate or tetracuspate and the tooth roots are incipiently divided.

Further reading

Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, Richard L. Cifelli, and Zhe-Xi Luo, Mammals from the Age of Dinosaurs: Origins, Evolution, and Structure (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), 186.