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Showing results for tags 'hell creek mammal'.
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Hi y'all, I came across this odd lower mammal molar from the HCF and I still can't make a more precise determination. It doesn't seem to follow the metatherian tooth design, so I guessed it must be eutherian. It seems to have only four cusps. Any insight is appreciated, and I can provide more photos if need be. @jpc Edit: I can't seem to tag people, could someone page jpc?
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- hell creek
- hell creek mammal
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From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
Among the iridescent mollusk shell shrapnel, lies a molar from a small Cretaceous mammal.-
- alphadon
- cretaceous mammal
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From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
Cimolodon nitidus Hell Creek Fm., Meade Co., SD, USA M1 (1st upper molar) While you may have mistaken it for a rodent, Cimolodon belonged to a far more ancient and wildly successful group of mammals, the multituberculates (so named for the multiple cusps arranged in rows on their molars). It likely ate seeds and nuts which were handedly ground by its lego-shaped molars. Cimolodon had to be wary of the likes of Pectinodon or other small predatory dinosaurs in the Hell Creek ecosystem. Unlike a few other contemporaneous mammals, this cousin of ours did not survive the K-Pg extinction event and perished along with the non-avian dinosaurs.-
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- cimolodon
- cimolodon nitidus
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