Animalia > Chordata > Mammalia > Cetacea > Hapalodectidae

Hapalodectidae

Wikipedia Abstract

Hapalodectidae (literally "soft biters" hapalos = "soft, tender," dêktês = "biter") is an extinct family of relatively small-bodied (1– to 8-kg) mesonychian placental mammals from the Paleocene and Eocene of North America and Asia. Hapalodectids differ from the larger and better-known mesonychids in having teeth specialized for cutting (presumably meat), while the teeth of other mesonychids, such as Mesonyx or Sinonyx, are more specialized for crushing bones. Hapalodectids were once considered a subfamily of the Mesonychidae, but the discovery of a skull of Hapalodectes hetangensis showed additional differences justifying placement in a distinct family. In particular, H. hetangensis has a postorbital bar closing the back of the orbit, a feature lacking in mesonychids. The skeleton of hapal
View Wikipedia Record: Hapalodectidae

Genus

Chonecetus (3)
Hapalodectes (10)
Hapalorestes (1)
Honanodon (2)
Pontobasileus (1)

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External References

Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0