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| Tritylodonts Temporal range: Upper Triassic – mid Cretaceous | |
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| Oligokyphus | |
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| Family: | Tritylodontidae Cope, 1884 |
Tritylodonts were small to medium-sized mammal-like cynodonts. They varied in size from a rabbit to a beaver.
They were the last family of the non-mammalian synapsids. One of the last cynodont lines to appear, the family Tritylodontidae descended from a Cynognathus-like cynodont. Their teeth had three cusps (bumps) which gave them their name.
The tritylodonts were herbivorous, chewing through vegetation, such as stems, leaves, and roots. Tritylodonts have no canine teeth, just incisors and cheek teeth. The jaw worked by grinding forward and backwards, shredding the food between the ridges of the teeth.
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