Belongs within: Ferae.
Contains: Tillodontia.
The Pantodonta were a group of graviportal, mostly herbivorous mammals that lived from the early Palaeocene to the mid-Eocene. They were most diverse in Eurasia and North America; a single species Alcidedorbignya inopinata is known from South America. Pantodonts varied in size from relatively small species of a few kilograms to over half a tonne in weight (Lucas 1998). The relationships of pantodonts to other mammals are largely mysterious; it is possible that they are distant relatives of the modern Carnivora.
Characters (from Lucas 1998): Head lacking cranial protuberances. P3 and P4 with V-shaped ectolophs; P2-P4 with broad metalophids; M1-M3 parastyles not projecting anterior to protocone-paracone line; M1-M3 metalophids and metaconids much taller than paracristids and paraconids. Legs with ‘amblypod’ carpus and tarsus.
<==Pantodonta [Pantolambdoidea] |--+--WangliidaeSM93 | | |--Wanglia Van Valen 1988SM93 | | `--Alcidedorbignya de Muizon & Marshall 1987HUG17, SM93 | | `--A. inopinataMC00 | `--+--Cyriacotherium Rose & Krause 1982HUG17, SM93 [Cyriacotheriidae] | | |--C. argyreumHUG17 | | `--C. psamminumHUG17 | `--+--PlethorodonR06 | `--TillodontiaHUG17 `--+--CoryphodontidaeSM93 | |--Eudinoceras Osborn 1924SM93 | | |--E. mongoliensisNG13 | | `--E. zhichengensis [=Coryphodon zhichengensis]NG13 | `--Coryphodon Owen 1846HUG17, C77 [incl. Bathmodon Cope 1872C77] | |--*C. eocaenus Owen 1846C77 | |--C. anthracoideusC77 | |--C. cuspidatus (Cope 1875) [=Bathmodon cuspidatus]C77 | |--C. elephantopus (Cope 1874) [=Bathmodon elephantopus]C77 | |--C. flerowiMHL03 | |--C. hamatus Marsh 1877G52 | |--C. latidens (Cope 1875) [=Bathmodon latidens]C77 | |--C. latipes (Cope 1872)G52, C77 [=Bathmodon latipesC77] | |--C. lobatus Cope 1877C77 | |--C. marginatusHUG17 | |--C. molestus (Cope 1874) [=Bathmodon molestus; incl. B. lomas Cope 1874]C77 | |--C. obliquus Cope 1877C77 | |--C. oweniiC77 | |--C. radians (Cope 1872) [=Bathmodon radians]C77 | |--C. semicinctus (Cope 1872) [=Bathmodon semicinctus]G52 | `--C. simus (Cope 1874) [=Bathmodon simus]C77 `--+--PantolambdidaeSM93 | |--Caenolambda Gazin 1956SM93 | `--Pantolambda Cope 1882HUG17, SM93 | |--P. bathmodonM94 | |--P. cavirictus Cope 1883S35 | `--P. intermedius Simpson 1935S35 `--+--Titanoides Gidley 1917HUG17, SM93 [Titanoideidae] | |--T. gidleyiD07 | |--T. lookiD07 | |--T. majorD07 | |--T. nanusD07 | |--T. primaevusD07 | `--T. zeuxisHUG17 `--Pantolambdodontidae [Archaeolambdidae, Pantolambdodontinae]R06 |--Pantolambdodon Granger & Gregory 1934SM93 |--NanlingilambdaHC97 |--Guichilambda Huang & Chen 1997HC97 | `--*G. zhaii Huang & Chen 1997HC97 `--Archaeolambda Flerov 1952HC97 |--A. planicaninaSM71 |--A. tabiensisHC97 `--A. yangtzeensis Huang 1978HC97 Pantodonta incertae sedis: Metalophodon Cope 1872C77 `--M. armatus Cope 1873G52 AsiocoryphodonNG13 |--A. conicus Xu 1976MHL03 `--A. lophodontus Xu 1976MHL03 BemalambdidaeWZ97 |--Bemalambda Chow et al. 1973SM93 `--Hypsilolambda Wang 1975WZ97 |--H. chalingensisWZ97 `--H. impensaWZ97 BarylambdidaePS58 |--Haplolambda quinniPS58 |--Leptolambda Patterson & Simons 1958PS58 | `--*L. schmidti Patterson & Simons 1958PS58 `--Barylambda Patterson 1937D07 |--B. churchilliD07 `--B. faberiPS58 Pastoralodontidae [Pastoralodontinae]HUG17 |--Pastoralodon Chow & Qi 1978SM93 `--Altilambda Chow & Wang 1978SM93 Harpyodus Chiu & Li 1977 [Harpyodidae]SM93
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[C77] Cope, E. D. 1877. Report upon the extinct Vertebrata obtained in New Mexico by parties of the expedition of 1874. Geographical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian 4 (2): i–iv, 1–370.
[D07] Dixon, D. 2007. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. Hermes House: London.
[G52] Gazin, C. L. 1952. The Lower Eocene Knight Formation of western Wyoming and its mammalian faunas. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 117 (18): 1–82, 11 pls.
[HUG17] Halliday, T. J. D., P. Upchurch & A. Goswami. 2017. Resolving the relationships of Paleocene placental mammals. Biological Reviews 92 (1): 521–550.
[HC97] Huang X. & Chen L. 1997. Mammalian remains from the Late Paleocene of Guichi, Anhui. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 35 (1): 49–67.
[M94] MacPhee, R. D. E. 1994. Morphology, adaptations, and relationships of Plesiorycteropus, and a diagnosis of a new order of eutherian mammals. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 220: 1–214.
[MHL03] Meng, J., Y. Hu & C. Li. 2003. The osteology of Rhombomylus (Mammalia, Glires): implications for phylogeny and evolution of Glires. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 275: 1–247.
[MC00] Muizon, C. de, & R. L. Cifelli. 2000. The “condylarths” (archaic Ungulata, Mammalia) from the early Palaeocene of Tiupampa (Bolivia): implications on the origin of the South American ungulates. Geodiversitas 22 (1): 47–150.
[NG13] Ni, X., D. L. Gebo, M. Dagosto, J. Meng, P. Tafforeau, J. J. Flynn & K. C. Beard. 2013. The oldest known primate skeleton and early haplorhine evolution. Nature 498: 60–64.
[PS58] Patterson, B., & E. L. Simons. 1958. A new barylambdid pantodont from the late Paleocene. Breviora 93: 1–8.
[R06] Rose, K. D. 2006. The Beginning of the Age of Mammals. John Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.
[S35] Simpson, G. G. 1935. New Paleocene mammals from the Fort Union of Montana. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 83 (2981): 221–244.
[SM93] Stucky, R. K., & M. C. McKenna. 1993. Mammalia. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 739–771. Chapman & Hall: London.
[SM71] Szalay, F. S., & M. C. McKenna. 1971. Beginning of the age of mammals in Asia: the late Paleocene Gashato fauna, Mongolia. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 144 (4): 269–318.
[WZ97] Wang B. & Zhang W. 1997. Mammalian fossils from Sanshui Basin, Guangdong, China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 35 (1): 44–48.