Conoryctella

Conoryctella Temporal range: 63.8–61.4 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Early Paleocene
lower jaw fragment of Conoryctella dragonensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Placentalia (?)
Order:	†Taeniodonta
Family:	†Conoryctidae
Subfamily:	†Conoryctinae
Tribe:	†Conoryctellini Schoch, 1982[2]
Genus:	†Conoryctella Gazin, 1939[1]
Type species
†Conoryctella dragonensis Gazin, 1939
Species
†C. dragonensis (Gazin, 1939) †C. pattersoni (Schoch & Lucas, 1981)[3]

Conoryctella ("cone digger of earth") is an extinct genus of taeniodonts from extinct tribe Conoryctellini within extinct subfamily Conoryctinae and extinct family Conoryctidae, that lived in North America during the early Paleocene.^[4]

History

C.L. Gazin named the genus and the type species, Conoryctella dragonensis, in 1939,^[4] based on a portion of the left maxilla (upper jawbone) and teeth collected in 1938.^[1]

Until 1981, the species was known only from the 1939 holotype described by Gazin.^[3]

A second species, C. pattersoni, was described by Robert M. Schoch and Spencer Lucas in 1982. The species was described based on material from the Nacimiento Formation, in New Mexico's San Juan Basin, and named after Bryan Patterson.^[3]

Type locality

The type locality is Dragon Canyon, found in the North Horn Formation, Utah.^[4]

Phylogeny

Placentalia	Atlantogenata Boreoeutheria †Palaeoryctida †Ambilestes †Procerberidae †Alveugena †Taeniodonta †Schowalteria †Stylinodontoidea †Onychodectidae †Conoryctidae †Eurodontinae †Conoryctinae †Conoryctini †Conoryctellini †Conoryctella †Conoryctella dragonensis †Conoryctella pattersoni

References

1. Gazin, C Lewis (15 July 1939). "A further contribution to the Dragon Paleocene fauna of central Utah". Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. 29 (4): 273–286. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
2. Schoch, R.M. (1982). "Phylogeny, classification and paleobiology of the Taeniodonta (Mammalia: Eutheria)". Third North Am. Paleontol. Conv. Proc. 2: 465–70.
3. Schoch, Robert; Lucas, Spencer (31 December 1981). "A new species of Conoryctella (Mammalia: Taeniodonta) from the Paleocene of the San Juan Basin, New Mexico, and a revision of the genus". Postilla. 185. Peabody Museum of Natural History: 1–23. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
4. "Fossilworks: Conoryctella dragonensis". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 2022-07-20.