Paurodon

Paurodon; Temporal range: Late Jurassic Kimmeridgian–Tithonian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Dryolestida
Family:	†Paurodontidae
Genus:	†Paurodon; Marsh, 1887
Species:	†P. valens
Binomial name
	†Paurodon valens; Marsh, 1887
Synonyms
	Archaeotrigon Simpson, 1927; Pelicopsis Simpson, 1927; Araeodon Simpson, 1937; Foxraptor Bakker and Carpenter, 1990;

Paurodon is an extinct genus of Late Jurassic mammal from the Morrison Formation of the Western United States.

Taxonomy

Paurodon is the type genus of the dryolestidan group Paurodontidae. Araeodon, Archaeotrigon, Foxraptor, and Pelicopsis are apparently growth stages of Paurodon.^[1]

Distribution and stratigraphy

Remains of Paurodon have been found in stratigraphic zone 5 of the Morrison Formation in Como Bluff, Wyoming.^[2]

Biology

Paurodon was strongly convergent with modern golden moles in terms of dentition and jaw shape. This suggests that its diet was composed of earthworms (unlike other contemporary dryolestoids, which were more insectivorous)^[3] and may have even been subterranean, like the more derived Necrolestes.

References

^ A.O. Averianov and T. Martin (2015). "Ontogeny and taxonomy of Paurodon valens (Mammalia, Cladotheria) from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of USA" (PDF). Proceedings of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 319 (3): 326–340.
^ Foster, J. (2007). "Appendix." Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their World. Indiana University Press. pp. 327-329.
^ Ontogeny and taxonomy of Paurodon valens (Mammalia, Cladotheria) from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of USA. (pdf), Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS Vol. 319, No. 3, 2015, рр. 326–340