Sinoconodon

Sy-noe-con-o-don.
Published on

Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Sinoconodon ‭(‬Chinese spike tooth.‭)‬.

Phonetic

Sy-noe-con-o-don.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Synapsida,‭ ‬Therapsida,‭ ‬Cynodontia,‭ ‬Mammaliamorpha,‭ ‬Sinoconodontidae.

Diet

Insectivore.

Species

S rigneyi‭

Size

About‭ ‬15‭ ‬centimetres long.

Known locations

China.

Time Period

Sinemurian of the Jurassic.

Fossil representation

Partial skull and post cranial remains of several individuals.

In Depth

       As a genus Sinoconodon represents one of the most primitive mammaliaforms currently known to science.‭ ‬There were once four species of Sinoconodon named,‭ ‬but it was eventually realised that all of these fossils represented individuals of the same species but at different growth stages.‭ ‬Only the type species,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬rigneyi today remains valid.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A triconodont mammal from the Triassic of Yunnan.‭ ‬International Colloquium on the Evolution of Lower and Non Specialized Mammals.‭ ‬Koninklijke Vlaamse Academir voor Wetenschappen,‭ ‬Letteren en Schone Kunsten can Belgie‭ ‬129-191.‭ ‬-‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Patterson‭ & ‬E.‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Olson‭ ‬-‭ ‬1961. -‭ [‬Two primitive mammals from Lufeng,‭ ‬Yunnan‭]‬.‭ ‬Selected Works of Yang Zhungjian.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Science Press,‭ ‬Beijing‭ ‬21-25.‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.‭ ‬-C.‭ ‬Young‭ ‬-‭ ‬1982. -‭ ‬New material and new understanding of Sinoconodon.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Vertebrata Palasialica,‭ ‬21:‭ ‬32-41.‭ ‬-‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Zhang‭ & ‬G.‭ ‬Cui‭ ‬-‭ ‬1983. -‭ ‬Cranial structure and relationships of the Liassic mammal Sinoconodon.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Zoological Journal of Linnean Society‭ ‬85:99-119.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬W.‭ ‬Crompton‭ ‬-‭ ‬1985.

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