Menadon is an extinct genus of traversodontid cynodonts. The type and only species is Menadon besairiei.[1]
| Menadon Temporal range: Late Triassic
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Clade: | Therapsida |
| Clade: | Cynodontia |
| Family: | †Traversodontidae |
| Subfamily: | †Gomphodontosuchinae |
| Genus: | †Menadon Flynn et al. 2000 |
| Species: | †M. besairiei
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| Binomial name | |
| †Menadon besairiei Flynn et al. 2000
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Fossils of Menadon were first found in Isalo II (the Makay Formation) of Madagascar, which preserves sediments from the Middle to Late Triassic period.[1][2] They have also been recovered from the Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin near Santa Cruz do Sul in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.[3]
Menadon was unique among non-mammalian synapsids for the presence of hypsodont (high-crowned) postcanine teeth. Hypsodont teeth grow continuously to counteract high wear caused by a diet of abrasive plant material. Menadon's teeth convergently resemble those of hypsodont xenarthrans such as sloths and armadillos, due to their column-like form and dentine which grows from the crown towards the root.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b Flynn, J.J.; Parrish, J.M.; Rakotosamimanana, B.; Ranivoharimanana, L.; Simpson, W.F. & Wyss, A.R. (2000). "New traversodontids (Synapsida: Eucynodontia) from the Triassic of Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 20 (3): 422–427. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0422:NTSEFT]2.0.CO;2.
- ^ Kammerer, Christian F.; Flynn, John J.; Ranivoharimanana, Lovasoa; Wyss, André R. (2008-06-12). "New material of Menadon besairiei (Cynodontia: Traversodontidae) from the Triassic of Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (2): 445–462. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2008)28[445:NMOMBC]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634.
- ^ Melo, Tomaz Panceri; Abdala, Fernando; Soares, Marina Bento (2015-11-02). "The Malagasy cynodont Menadon besairiei (Cynodontia; Traversodontidae) in the Middle–Upper Triassic of Brazil". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 35 (6): e1002562. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.1002562. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 128925370.
- ^ Melo, Tomaz P.; Ribeiro, Ana M.; Martinelli, Agustín G.; Soares, Marina B. (June 2019). "Early evidence of molariform hypsodonty in a Triassic stem-mammal". Nature Communications. 10: 2841. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10719-7. PMC 6598982. PMID 31253810.
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