I think these names are fantastic (and the suffix -baatar for multituberculates in general). Such poetic names for such small and easily overlooked animals.
Thomas Yazbeck
From: dinosaur-l-request@mymaillists.usc.edu <dinosaur-l-request@mymaillists.usc.edu> on behalf of Tim Williams <tijawi@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2020 10:18 PM
To: dinosaur-l@usc.edu <dinosaur-l@usc.edu>
Subject: Re: [dinosaur] Bructerodon and Cheruscodon, new multituberculate mammals from Lower Cretaceous of Germany
Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2020 10:18 PM
To: dinosaur-l@usc.edu <dinosaur-l@usc.edu>
Subject: Re: [dinosaur] Bructerodon and Cheruscodon, new multituberculate mammals from Lower Cretaceous of Germany
The two new genus names (_Bructerodon_ and _Cheruscodon_) are certainly 'on theme' when it comes to German multituberculates.
_Bructerodon_: "After Bructeri, a Germanic tribe of antiquity, one of the German tribes that annihilated three Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest."
_Cheruscodon_: "After Cherusci, Germanic tribe of antiquity, one of the German tribes that annihilated three Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest."
From previous publications (Martin et al., 2016, 2019):
_Teutonodon_: "After Teutones, Germanic tribe of antiquity."
_Cimbriodon_: "After Cimbri, Germanic tribe of antiquity."
The Teutones and Cimbri gave the Romans a great deal of grief during the late Roman Republic (long before Varus' incompetence led to disaster in the Teutoborg Forest).
Four great multituberculate names... but not a lot of love for the ancient Romans.
On Wed, Nov 11, 2020 at 3:28 PM Ben Creisler <bcreisler@gmail.com> wrote:
Ben Creisler
A new paper:
Bructerodon alatus gen. et sp. nov.
Cheruscodon balvensis gen. et sp. nov.
Thomas Martin, Alexander O. Averianov, Julia A. Schultz & Achim H. Schwermann (2020)
First multituberculate mammals from the Lower Cretaceous of Germany.
Cretaceous Research 104699
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104699
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667120303864
Multituberculata from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian–Aptian) Balve locality in Germany are represented by two taxa, the pinheirodontid Bructerodon alatus gen. et sp. nov. and the eobaatarid Cheruscodon balvensis gen. et sp. nov. Bructerodon alatus gen. et sp. nov. is known from an upper premolar (P5) and an upper molar (M1) with a distinct distolingual wing showing three cusps. Cheruscodon balvensis gen. et sp. nov. is represented by a dentary fragment with p4 and isolated teeth (P1, p4, m2). The new taxon is similar to other eobaatarids by its small single-rooted p2, double-routed p3, p4 with a single distolabial cusp, and mesio–distally asymmetric lower molars. It differs from most other eobaatarids by a larger number of serrations (11) and a larger distolabial cusp on p4. Cheruscodon gen. nov. is similar to Arginbaatar from the Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia in having the roots of p4 exposed above the alveolar border and a mesially curved distal root of p4.