Apterodon

Apterodon Temporal range: Late Eocene to Early Oligocene (Priabonian to Rupelian), 37–30.9 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Two views of the skull of Apterodon macrognathus
Apterodon macrognathus life restoration
Scientific classification
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] †A. sp. [Dur At-Talah escarpment, Libya] (Grohé, 2012)[3]
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)

Apterodon ("without winged tooth") is an extinct genus of hyaenodonts from extinct subfamily Apterodontinae within paraphyletic family Hyainailouridae, that lived from the late Eocene to the early Oligocene epoch in Africa and Europe.^{[3][9] Including supplementary materials} It is closely related to the African Quasiapterodon.^[3]

Uniquely among hyaenodonts, species of Apterodon were 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]

Dental analysis found that within Apterodon macrognathus, the dental eruption of secondary dentition occurred much more slowly than in carnivorans.^[10]

Taxonomy

* Subfamily: †Apterodontinae(Szalay, 1967) Genus: †Apterodon (Fischer, 1880) †Apterodon altidens (Schlosser, 1910) †Apterodon gaudryi (Fischer, 1880) †Apterodon langebadreae (Grohé, 2012) †Apterodon macrognathus (Andrews, 1904) †Apterodon rauenbergensis (Frey, 2010) †Apterodon saghensis (Simons & Gingerich, 1976) †Apterodon sp. [Dur At-Talah escarpment, Libya] (Grohé, 2012) Genus: †Quasiapterodon (Lavrov, 1999) †Quasiapterodon minutus (Schlosser, 1910)

Description

Apterodon macroganthis was a large hyaenodont, weighing between 25.6–35.4 kg (56–78 lb).^[11][12]

A. langebadreae reconstruction.

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.; Holroyd, Patricia A.; Seiffert, Erik R. (2016). "Hyainailourine and teratodontine cranial material from the late Eocene of Egypt and the application of parsimony and Bayesian methods to the phylogeny and biogeography of Hyaenodonta (Placentalia, Mammalia)". PeerJ. 4 e2639. doi:10.7717/peerj.2639. PMC 5111901. PMID 27867761.
10. 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.
11. Dubied, Morgane; Solé, Floréal; Mennecart, Bastien (29 July 2019). "The cranium of Proviverra typica (Mammalia, Hyaenodonta) and its impact on hyaenodont phylogeny and endocranial evolution". Palaeontology. 62 (6): 983–1001. Bibcode:2019Palgy..62..983D. doi:10.1111/pala.12437.
12. Flink, Therese; Cote, Susanne; Rossie, James B.; Kibii, Job M.; Werdelin, Lars (March 2021). "The neurocranium of Ekweeconfractus amorui gen. et sp. nov. (Hyaenodonta, Mammalia) and the evolution of the brain in some hyaenodontan carnivores". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (2) e1927748. Bibcode:2021JVPal..41E7748F. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1927748. S2CID 237518007.