Sunnyodon | ||||||||||||
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S. notleyi | ||||||||||||
Ref. |
Sunnyodon is a tiny, extinct mammal, probably of the Lower Cretaceous. It was a relatively early member of the also extinct order of Multituberculata. It lived in obscurity in southern England during 'the age of the dinosaurs'.
(For the more technically inclined, suborder "Plagiaulacida", family Paulchoffatiidae.)
Genus: Sunnyodon Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Ensom PC, 1992
'Sunny tooth' (named after Sunnydown Farm)
Species: Sunnyodon notleyi Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Ensom PC, 1992
Place: Purbeck Formation, Durlston Bay, Dorset
Country: England
Age: Upper Jurassic? or Lower Cretaceous
Remarks: This is a tooth based genus. According to current understanding, this Formation is now considered to be early Lower Cretaceous, (personal communication, PC Ensom).
Reference: Kielan-Jaworowska & Ensom (1992), Multituberculate Mammals from the Upper Jurassic Purbeck Limestone Formation of southern England. Paleontology, 35, p.95-126.
Page reference: Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Hurum JH (2001), Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals. Paleontology 44, p.389-429.
(This information has been derived from [1] Multituberculata Cope, 1884. As that's my webpage, there are no issues of copyright. Trevor Dykes)