Menadon

Menadon is an extinct genus of traversodontid cynodonts. The type and only species is Menadon besairiei.[1]

Menadon
Temporal range: Late Triassic
~235–222 Ma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
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]

References
  1. Flynn, J.J.; Parrish, J.M.; Rakotosamimanana, B.; Ranivoharimanana, L.; Simpson, W.F. & Wyss, A.R. (2000). "New traversodontids (Synapsida: Eucynodontia) from the Triassic of Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 20 (3): 422–427. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0422:NTSEFT]2.0.CO;2.
  2. Kammerer, Christian F.; Flynn, John J.; Ranivoharimanana, Lovasoa; Wyss, André R. (2008-06-12). "New material of Menadon besairiei (Cynodontia: Traversodontidae) from the Triassic of Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (2): 445–462. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[445:NMOMBC]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634.
  3. Melo, Tomaz Panceri; Abdala, Fernando; Soares, Marina Bento (2015-11-02). "The Malagasy cynodont Menadon besairiei (Cynodontia; Traversodontidae) in the Middle–Upper Triassic of Brazil". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 35 (6): e1002562. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.1002562. ISSN 0272-4634.
  4. Melo, Tomaz P.; Ribeiro, Ana M.; Martinelli, Agustín G.; Soares, Marina B. (June 2019). "Early evidence of molariform hypsodonty in a Triassic stem-mammal". Nature Communications. 10: 2841. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10719-7. PMID 31253810.


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