Yuanotherium
| Yuanotherium Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Holotype upper jaw fragment | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | Cynodontia |
| Family: | †Tritylodontidae |
| Genus: | †Yuanotherium Hu, Meng & Clark, 2009 |
| Species: | †Y. minor
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Yuanotherium minor Hu, Meng & Clark, 2009
| |
Yuanotherium minor is an extinct species of tritylodontid cynodonts which existed in China during the Late Jurassic epoch, described from the Shishugou Formation. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Yuanotherium.[1]
Description
Y. minor is charactersed by a reduced maxilla, a trait unique not just among tritylodontids but among cynodonts at large. It also had an exceptionally large lacrimal.[2]
Palaeobiology
Palaeoecology
Y. minor is suggested to have been an omnivore rather than a herbivore.[3]
References
- ^ "PBDB Taxon". Retrieved 24 December 2025.
- ^ "Reinvestigation of Yuanotherium minor and its implications for the cuspal homology and maxillary-palatal evolution of tritylodontids". Vertebrata Palasiatica. 63 (2). LIU Lu, REN Ji-Cheng, MAO Fang-Yuan. 20 April 2025. doi:10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.250331. ISSN 2096-9899. Archived from the original on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Yaoming Hu, Jin Meng & James M. Clark (2009). "A new tritylodontid from the Upper Jurassic of Xinjiang, China" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 54 (3): 385–391. doi:10.4202/app.2008.0053.