Apterodon

Apterodon ("without winged tooth") is an extinct genus of hyaenodontid mammals that lived from the late Eocene through the middle Oligocene epoch in Africa and Europe.^[3] It is closely related to the African Quasiapterodon, and together it, they comprise the hyainailurids subfamily Apterodontinae.^[3]

Apterodon Temporal range: 39.6–27.8 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Eocene to Middle Oligocene
Two views of the skull of Apterodon macrognathus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Hyaenodonta
Superfamily:	†Hyainailouroidea
Family:	†Hyainailouridae
Subfamily:	†Apterodontinae
Genus:	†Apterodon Fischer, 1880
Type species
†Apterodon gaudryi Fischer, 1880
Species
†A. altidens (Schlosser, 1910)^[1] †A. gaudryi (Fischer, 1880)^[2] †A. langebadreae (Grohé, 2012)^[3] †A. macrognathus (Andrews, 1904)^[4] †A. rauenbergensis (Frey, 2010)^[5] †A. saghensis (Simons & Gingerich, 1976)^[6]
Synonyms
synonyms of genus: Dasyurodon (Andreae, 1887)^[7] synonyms of species: A. gaudryi: Apterodon flonheimensis (Andreae, 1887) Apterodon intermedius (Lange-Badré & Böhme, 2005)^[8] Dasyurodon flonheimensis (Andreae, 1887) A. macrognathus: Pterodon macrognathus (Andrews, 1904)

Uniquely among hyaenodonts, species of Apterodon were a semiaquatic, fossorial mammals. They possessed strong forelimbs that were well equipped for digging, compared to those of modern badgers, while the tail, torso and hindlimbs show adaptations similar to those of other aquatic mammals like otters and pinnipeds. The dentition was suited to feed on hard-shelled invertebrate prey, such as crustaceans and shellfish. They probably lived along African coastlines.^[3]

Borths and Stevens (2017.)^[9] described a new specimen of Apterodon macrognathus (among with other hyaenodonts) and concluded that the dental eruption of secondary dentition occurred much more slowly than in carnivorans.

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic relationships of genus Apterodon are shown in the following cladogram.^{[3][9][10][11][12]}

†Hyaenodonta	†Eoproviverra †Boualitomidae †Arfiidae †Limnocyonidae †Sinopidae †Hyaenodontoidea †Gazinocyon †Pyrocyon †Galecyon  †Afro‑Arabian clade  †Parvavorodon †Indohyaenodontidae †Glibzegdouia †Koholiidae †Tritemnodon †Teratodontidae  †Apterodontinae   †Apterodon  †Apterodon altidens †Apterodon gaudryi  ?  †Apterodon rauenbergensis †Apterodon langebadreae †Apterodon macrognathus  ?  †Apterodon sp. (Dur At-Talah escarpment, Libya) †Apterodon saghensis †Quasiapterodon †Maocyon †Maocyon/Orienspterodon clade †Orienspterodon †Hyainailourinae †Hemipsalodon  ?  †Ischnognathus †Akhnatenavus clade †Akhnatenavus †"Pterodon" sp. (BC 15’08) †Hyainailourinae sp. (UON 84-359) †Hyainailourinae sp. C (DPC 9243 & DPC 10315) †Hyainailourinae sp. D (DPC 6545) †Kerberos †"Pterodon" syrtos †Pterodon clade †Pterodontina †Hyainailourinae sp. A (DPC 6555) †"Pterodon" africanus †Parapterodon †"Pterodon" sp. (DPC 5036) †"Pterodon" phiomensis †Hyainailourini †Paroxyaenini †Falcatodon †Sectisodon †Exiguodon †Isohyaenodon zadoki †Isohyaenodon  (†Isohyaenodontina) †Isohyaenodon andrewsi †Sivapterodon †Hyainailouros bugtiensis †Hyainailouros napakensis †Hyainailouros †Hyainailouros sulzeri †Hyainailourinae sp. (GSN AD 100’96) †Simbakubwa †Leakitheriini †Megistotherium †Mlanyama †Metapterodontini †Pakakali †Prionogalidae †Hyainailouridae	†Lahimia clade †Arfia clade †Galecyon clade †Indohyaenodon clade †Tritemnodon clade †Hyainailouroidea

See also

• Mammal classification
• Apterodontinae

References

1. Schlosser M. (1910.) "Über einige fossil saügetiere aus dem Oligocän von Ägypten." Zoologischer Anzeiger 35: 500–508.
2. Fischer, P. (1880.) "Note sur un nouveau genre de mammifère fossile (Apterodon gaudryi) des Phosphorites du Quercy." Bulletin de la Société géologique de France 8, 288–290.
3. Grohé, Camille; Morlo, Michael; Chaimanee, Yaowalak; Blondel, Cécile; Coster, Pauline; Valentin, Xavier; Salem, Mustapha; Bilal, Awad A.; Jaeger, Jean-Jacques; Brunet, Michel; Laudet, Vincent (2012). "New Apterodontinae (Hyaenodontida) from the Eocene Locality of Dur At-Talah (Libya): Systematic, Paleoecological and Phylogenetical Implications". PLOS ONE. 7 (11): e49054. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...749054G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049054. PMC 3504055. PMID 23185292.
4. C. W. Andrews (1904.) "Further notes on the mammals of the Eocene of Egypt. Part III." Geological Magazine, London Ser. 5 1:211-215
5. E. Frey, W. Munk, M. Böhme, M. Morlo and M. Hensel (2010.) "First creodont carnivore from the Rupelian Clays (Oligocene) of the Clay Pit Unterfeld at Rauenberg (Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg): Apterodon rauenbergensis n.sp." Kaupia 17:103-113
6. E. L. Simons and P. D. Gingerich (1976.) "A new species of Apterodon (Mammalia, Creodonta) from the upper Eocene Qasr el-Sagha Formation of Egypt." Postilla 168:1-9
7. Andreae, A. (1887.) "Ein neues Raubtier aus dem mitteloligocänen Meeresand des Mainzer Beckens." Bericht uber die Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft (125–133).
8. B. Lange-Badré and M. Böhme (2005.) "Apterodon intermedius, sp. nov., a new European Creodont Mammal from MP22 of Espenhain (Germany)." Annales de Paléontologie 91:311-328
9. Borths, Matthew R.; Stevens, Nancy J. (2017). "Deciduous dentition and dental eruption of Hyainailouroidea (Hyaenodonta, "Creodonta," Placentalia, Mammalia)". Palaeontologia Electronica. 20 (3): 55A. doi:10.26879/776.
10. Matthew R. Borths; Nancy J. Stevens (2019). "Simbakubwa kutokaafrika, gen. et sp. nov. (Hyainailourinae, Hyaenodonta, 'Creodonta,' Mammalia), a gigantic carnivore from the earliest Miocene of Kenya". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 39 (1): e1570222. Bibcode:2019JVPal..39E0222B. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1570222. S2CID 145972918.
11. Floréal Solé; Bernard Marandat; Fabrice Lihoreau (2020). "The hyaenodonts (Mammalia) from the French locality of Aumelas (Hérault), with possible new representatives from the late Ypresian". Geodiversitas. 42 (13): 185–214. doi:10.5252/geodiversitas2020v42a13.
12. Averianov, Alexander; Obraztsova, Ekaterina; Danilov, Igor; Jin, Jian-Hua (2023). "A new hypercarnivorous hyaenodont from the Eocene of South China". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 11. doi:10.3389/fevo.2023.1076819. ISSN 2296-701X.

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Apterodon.

•  paleontology portal
•  mammals portal