Nujalikodon

Nujalikodon
Temporal range: Rhaetian-Sinemurian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Therapsida
Clade: Cynodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Order: †Docodonta
Genus: †
Type species
†Nujalikodon cassiopeiae
Patrocinio et al., 2025[1]

Nujalikodon is a genus of mammaliaform from the Rhætelv Formation of central East Greenland. It dates to the Late Triassic, making it the oldest definitive docodontan. It is known from a fragment of jaw with a single preserved molar tooth.

Etymology

Nujalikodon is named after Nujalik, the goddess of hunting on land in Inuit mythology, and the suffix '-odon' meaning tooth. The name for the type species N. cassiopeiae, comes from the cusp pattern in the tooth, which resembles the arrangement of the stars in the constellation Cassiopeia.

References

  1. ^ Patrocínio, S., Panciroli, E., Rotatori, F. M., Mateus, O., Milàn, J., Clemmensen, L. B., Crespo, V. D. 2025. The oldest definitive docodontan from central East Greenland sheds light on the origin of the clade. Papers in Palaeontology, 11, 3, e70022.
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