Kollikodon

Name: Kollikodon.
Phonetic: Kol-le-ko-don.‭
Named By: Flannery,‭ ‬Archer,‭ ‬Rich‭ & ‬Jones‭ ‬-‭ ‬1995.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Monotremata,‭ ‬Platypoda.
Species: K.‭ ‬ritchiei‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore,‭ ‬possibly durophagous.
Size: Uncertain.
Known locations: Australia,‭ ‬New South Wales,‭ ‬Lightning Ridge‭ ‬-‭ ‬Griman Creek Formation.
Time period: Albian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial dentary‭ (‬lower jaw‭) ‬and two molar teeth.

       Kollikodon shares four things with another monotreme called Steropodon.‭ ‬One is that they were both related to the modern day platypus.‭ ‬Two is that they are both known from the same fossil formation.‭ ‬Three is that both of these genera have been described only from partial jaw bones.‭ ‬Four is that both of these jaws have been opalised‭ (‬Turned to opal,‭ ‬a process that is not that uncommon for Australian fossils‭)‬.‭ ‬The similarities are so great it would be tempting to think that they could be the same creature,‭ ‬but study of the teeth and their form has confirmed that they are indeed two separate genera.‭ ‬The teeth of Kollikodon are seen as being particularly well adapted for crushing shellfish,‭ ‬something that hints at a durophagous diet.

Further reading
- A new family of monotremes from the Cretaceous of Australia. - Nature 377:418-420. -T. F. Flannery, M. Archer, T. H. Rich & R. Jones - 1995.
- The upper dentition and relationships of the enigmatic Australian Cretaceous mammal Kollikodon ritchiei. - Memoirs of Museum Victoria. 74: 97–105.- Rebecca Pian, Michael Archer, Suzanne J. Hand, Robin M.D. Beck & Andrew Cody - 2016.

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