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Extinct genus of cynodonts From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Menadon is an extinct genus of traversodontid cynodonts. The type and only species is Menadon besairiei.[1]
Menadon Temporal range: Late Triassic ~ | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Synapsida |
Clade: | Therapsida |
Clade: | Cynodontia |
Family: | †Traversodontidae |
Subfamily: | †Gomphodontosuchinae |
Genus: | †Menadon Flynn et al. 2000 |
Species: | †M. besairiei |
Binomial name | |
†Menadon besairiei Flynn et al. 2000 | |
Fossils of Menadon were first found in Isalo II (the Makay Formation) of Madagascar, which preserves sediments from the Middle to Late Triassic period.[1][2] They have also been recovered from the Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin near Santa Cruz do Sul in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.[3]
Menadon was unique among non-mammalian synapsids for the presence of hypsodont (high-crowned) postcanine teeth. Hypsodont teeth grow continuously to counteract high wear caused by a diet of abrasive plant material. Menadon's teeth convergently resemble those of hypsodont xenarthrans such as sloths and armadillos, due to their column-like form and dentine which grows from the crown towards the root.[4]
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