Storchodon Temporal range:
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Synapsida |
Clade: | Therapsida |
Clade: | Cynodontia |
Clade: | Mammaliaformes |
Order: | † Morganucodonta |
Genus: | †
Storchodon Martin et al., 2019 |
Species: | †S. cingulatus
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Binomial name | |
†Storchodon cingulatus Martin et al., 2019
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Storchodon is an extinct genus of morganucodont mammaliaforms from the Late Jurassic ( Kimmeridgian) of Germany. Its only species is Storchodon cingulatus, which is known exclusively from a single upper molar found at the Süntel Formation of Lower Saxony. [1]
The generic name Storchodon honours the German palaeontologist Gerhard Storch, whereas the specific epithet cingulatus is a reference to the prominent cingulum of the molar. [1]
Storchodon was large for a morganucodont; the holotype molar has a length of 3.07 millimetres (0.121 in), which among morganucodonts is exceeded only by the holotype of Paceyodon davidi. This large size may be a case of insular gigantism. [1] As in other morganucodonts, the molar has a triconodont shape, with the three main cusps A, B and C being set in a straight line. Cusp D is relatively large, and unlike in for example Morganucodon, it is placed at an oblique angle relative to the main cusps. [1]