Docodon (meaning 'beam tooth') was a mammaliaform from the Late Jurassic of western North America. It was the first docodontan Mesozoic mammal to be named.
Description[]
Docodon was the first docodontan mammal found and named, and later gave its name to the family it now belongs to, the Docodonta[3]. Docodontans had more complex shaped teeth than other early mammaliaforms, with piercing and crushing surfaces that would have allowed members of this family to eat a wider range of food types. These complex teeth are more similar to later mammal groups, but evolved independently of them.
Unlike many mammals from the Mesozoic, Docodon is known from a large number of teeth and jaws of differing growth stages. This has made it possible to study the growth of this docodontan, and has revealed how docodont jaws change from juvenile stages to adulthood.
Discovery[]
Docodon was discovered and named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1880[1]. Like many other early small mammaliaforms, it is known only mainly from fossilized teeth and jaws, as these are the hardest parts of the body and survive more easily in the fossil record. Docodon fossils are found most commonly in the Black Hills region of South Dakota.
Its height is estimated at 10 centimeters with an approximate weight of 30 grams, making it one of the larger mammaliaforms known from the Morrison Formation.