Saltaodus

Saltaodus Temporal range:Late Eocene ~
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Family:	†Didolodontidae
Genus:	†Saltaodus Gelfoet al2020
Type species
Saltaodus sirolli Gelfoet al,2020
Species
S. sirolliGelfoet al2020

Saltaodusis anextinctgenusofmammals,belonging to the familyDidolodontidae.It lived during the LateEocene,in what is nowSouth America.

Description

This genus is only known from a left mandible, making it impossible to reconstruct its overall appearance. It is assumed to have been a small sized animal, and comparison with its better known relativeDidolodusindicates thatSaltaodusmust have weighed less than five kilograms. It was characterized by the presence of a well developed canine and a brachydont dentition. The first and second lowerpremolarswere single rooted. Compared to theKollpaniidae,another group of archaic South American mammals,Saltaodushad taller and more separated cusps, with a well developed cristid. The basin of the talonids was large and wasn't filled by the base of the hypoconid or by the distal wall of the metaconid. The fourth lower premolar was distinctly similar to a molar.

Classification

Saltaoduswas a member of theDidolodontidae,an Enigma tic clade of south american ungulates, who lived during the beginning of theCenozoic,perhaps close to the ancestor ofLitopterna.Saltaoduswas one of the smallest known didolodontids, and one of the few known from the low latitudes of South America.

Saltaodus sirolliwas first described in 2020, based on fossils found in theLumbrera Formation,nearSan Antonio de los Cobres,in theSalta ProvinceofArgentina.