Epidolops

Epidolops
Temporal range: 58.7–57.0 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Polydolopimorphia
Family: †Bonapartheriidae
Genus: †Epidolops
Paula Couto, 1952
Species:
†E. ameghinoi
Binomial name
†Epidolops ameghinoi
Paula Couto, 1952

Epidolops is an extinct monotypic genus of polydolopimorphian metatherian that lived during the Paleogene in what is now South America.

Distribution

Epidolops ameghinoi is known from the Itaboraí fossil site of Brazil. Epidolops fossils have also been found in the Las Flores Formation of Argentina.

Description

E. ameghinoi had diminutive maxillopalatine fenestrae, a large pterygoid fossa laterally enclosed by a prominent ectopterygoid crest, and a mandibular fossa that was simple and planar. The species lacked a masseteric process. The postglenoid process was immediately anterior to the postglenoid foramen. The hypotympanic sinus was unossified.

References

  1. ↑ Bergqvist, Lílian Paglarelli; Carneiro, Leonardo M.; Zanesco, Tábata; Castro, Luis Otávio Resende; de Oliveira, João Alves (27 November 2024). "Revisiting old data to unveil the history and age of the Itaboraí Basin fossil mammals". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 31 (4). doi:10.1007/s10914-024-09738-z. ISSN 1064-7554. Retrieved 13 April 2026 – via Springer Nature Link.
  2. ↑ "Epidolops". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Beck, Robin M. D. (26 October 2016). "The Skull of Epidolops ameghinoi from the Early Eocene Itaboraí Fauna, Southeastern Brazil, and the Affinities of the Extinct Marsupialiform Order Polydolopimorphia". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 24 (4): 373–414. doi:10.1007/s10914-016-9357-6. ISSN 1064-7554. PMC 5684316. PMID 29187780. Retrieved 7 October 2026 – via Springer Nature Link.