Herpetotherium

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Herpetotherium
Fossil range: Early Eocene - Early Miocene[1]
Herpetotherium
Herpetotherium
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Marsupicarnivora
Family: Didelphidae
Subfamily: Herpetotheriinae
Genus: Herpetotherium
Cope, 1873
Species
  • H. fugax (syn. Didelphys pygmaea, H. scalare, H. tricuspis) (type)
  • H. huntii
  • H. knighti (syn. Centracodon delicatus, Entomacodon minutus, Peratherium morrisi)
  • H. merriami
  • H. valens (syn. Peratherium donahoei)
  • H. youngi (syn. Peratherium spindleri)
Synonyms

Peratherium

Herpetotherium is an extinct genus of pygmy opossum. Species were arboreal omnivores, much like today's opossums.

Fossils have been found in California, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Saskatchewan[2]. The oldest species, H. knighti, is dated to around 50.3mya, and the most recent, an unnamed species, may be as recent as 16.3mya.[3].

[edit] References

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