Taxon: Taeniolabidoidea (Sloan RE & Van Valen L, 1965) McKenna & Bell, 1997, Fox, 1999 Taxon: Taeniolabididae Granger W & Simpson GG, 1929 Reference: Granger & Simpson (1929), A revision of the Tertiary Multituberculata. Bulletin of the Am. Museum of Nat. Hist., 56, p.601-676. Taeniolabidoidea is a clade of derived multituberculates from the northern hemisphere. It was initially established as a suborder, before being assigned the rank of a superfamily by McKenna & Bell, 1997, (see Kielan-Jaworowska & Hurum (2001) p.391-392). It's now strictly limited to the family Taeniolabididae, (with thanks to Dr Kielan-Jaworowska). Some of the fossils are well preserved. Catopsalis is known from the Upper Cretaceous of Canada, though the family's best represented from Paleocene strata. Derived characteristics of the taxon, apomorphis, include: "snout short and wide with anterior part of zygomatic arches directed transversely, resulting in a square-like shape of the skull (shared with Kogaionidae); frontals small, pointed posteriorly, almost or completely excluded from the orbital rim," (Kielan-Jaworowska & Hurum 2001, p.417). Some of these animals were macho-multis. However, and in my unqualified opinion, some of the calculation methods which generate the body mass estimates do appear to overstate things in these cases. Taeniolabis taoensis is the largest known multi, but a body mass of 102kg seems unlikely. It was about beaver-size and presumably about beaver-heavy, (with thanks to Sevilleta LTER, the University of New Mexico). That would mean no more than 30 kilos. Where relevant, I shall employ the following highly specialized, scientific terms of my own concoction; heavyweight, super-heavyweight, sumo-heavyweight and sumo-super-heavyweight.

Links: Mikko Haaramo's Taeniolabididae Mikko Haaramo's Taeniolabididae Martin Jehle, Multituberculates: Heyday of the longest lived mammalian order http://www.paleocene-mammals.de/multis.htm A comprehensible overview of multis. Members of Taeniolabididae feature strongly. Genera: Bubodens, Catopsalis, Lambdopsalis, Oracodon (= Meniscoessus), Polymastodon (= Catopsalis / Taeniolabis), Prionessus, Sphenopsalis, Taeniolabis, other reports Time-Line: Paleocene: Catopsalis, Lambdopsalis, Prionessus, Sphenopsalis, Taeniolabis Upper Cretaceous: Bubodens

Genus: Bubodens (awaiting publication)

Species:	Bubodens magnus
Place:	South Dakota
Country:	USA
Age:	Upper Cretaceous
Remarks:	The only lower molar known is an m1. In Mesozoic mammalian terms, this is exceptionally large; length ca. 13mm, width 6mm, (Clemens et al, 2003). This also receives a brief mention in Weil, 2005 p.116). Remains are restricted to just a single tooth. However, this must've been a mega-multi. According to the suggested comparison it was: "at least as large as R.[epenomamus] robustus and may have been as large as R. giganticus". That range is between 0.5 - 1m. As this material hasn't yet been formally described, this entry's placement within this section is provisional.
Reference:

Link: Anne Weil, Curriculum Vitae -January 2003 http://www.baa.duke.edu/weillab/Webvita.pdf The title of the planned publication appears on page 4 -Publications in Process. Weil A & Clemens WA (in review) Bubodens magnus (Mammalia: Multituberculata) from the Late Cretaceous of South Dakota and implications for diversification of Taeniolabididae. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.

Genus: Catopsalis Cope ED, 1882 Aka: Polymastodon sp. Remarks: The Mongolian Connection? Page 508 of Kielan-Jaworowska et al, 2005 states this genus is also known from the Paleocene of Mongolia, and they give a reference for Matthew, Granger & Simpson, 1928. I find this odd and wonder whether there's a connection with Sphenopsalis, a genus of the same time, place and that authorship. I've checked Matthew et al thoroughly and conclude Sphenopsalis was probably the genus meant, as K-J et al specify Prionessus as present. Lofgren, 1995 Lofgren was writing about fossils from a number of localities at and near McGuire Creek, Montana (p.89). At the time the genus of Catopsalis was known to be paraphyletic. This was at least in part due to the inclusion of C. catopsaloides from Mongolia, a species which later deserted to become Catopsbaatar. At least two natural species are known to have been lurking in the Paleocene of Montana; C. joyneri and C. alexanderi. However, they'd never been found together at the same locality. That could be due to insufficient sample sizes, different ages or perhaps some other factor; eg. dofferent habitat preferences. Members of the genus seem to have put on weight over the generations. C. joyneri is a comparative smalling, the possibly somewhat later C. alexanderi is larger, and the yet later C. foliatus could've qualified for some class or other of multituberculate sumo wrestler, should multis have pursued such interests. Reference (for the genus): Cope (1882), A second genus of Eocene Plagiaulacidae, The American Naturalis, vol 16, p.416-417.

Reassigned species: C. catopsaloides see Catopsbaatar catopsaloides; C. foliatus Cope, 1882 (partly) see Stygimys kuszmauli; C. johnstoni Fox, 1989 see C. foliatus; C. pollux Cope, 1882 see Taeniolabis taoensis; C. utahensis Gazin, 1939 see C. fissidens

Links: Departments, Washington http://depts.washington.edu/vertp/70438Catopsalis.jpeg A tooth from the Burke’s collection of fossil vertebrates. At last! http://depts.washington.edu/vertp/ I’ve spent quite some time wondering what or where the above collection is, and have now found the name. It’s at the Burke Museum, University of Washington, Seattle. The Prehistoric Data Files, Catopsalis http://www.angellis.net/Web/DFG-mam/Catopsalis.htm A sketch by VRW.

Species:	Catopsalis foliatus Cope ED, 1882
Aka:	C. johnstoni Fox RC, 1989; Polymastodon foliatus Cope, 1884
Place:	San Juan Basin, New Mexico, Montana & Ravenscrag Formation
Country:	USA & Canada
Age:	Puercan, Paleocene
Remarks:	According to Lofgren, 1995, this was a relatively large species for the genus. "Descendant of C. joyneri," (Burkitt JH). C. johnstoni, from Saskatchewan, is also at Alberta. Heavyweight.
References:	Cope (1882), A second genus of Eocene Plagiaulacidae, The American Naturalist, 16, p.416-417.
	Fox (1989), The Wounded Knee local fauna and mammalian evolution near the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, Saskatchewan, Canada. Palaeontogr. Abt. A: Paläozool., Stratigr. 208, p.11-59 + 6 plates.

Species:	Catopsalis fissidens Cope ED, 1884
Aka:	C. utahensis Gazin CL, 1939; Polymastodon fissidens Cope, 1884
Place:	San Juan Basin, New Mexico, Utah & ?Wyoming
Country:	USA
Age:	Torrejonian, Paleocene
Remarks:	"Descendant of C. utahensis," (Burkitt JH), which now seems improbable seeing as their synonyms. The University of Wyoming boasts a possible specimen. Super-heavyweight.
References:	Cope (1884), A second addition to the knowledge of the Puerco Epoch, American Philosophical Society Proceedings, vol 37, p.309-324.
	Gazin (1939), A further contribution to the Dragon Paleocene fauna of central Utah. J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 29, p.273-286, 10 figs.

Species:	Catopsalis calgariensis Russell LS, 1926
Place:	Paskapoo Formation, Alberta & Wyoming
Country:	Canada & USA
Age:	Torrejonian? - Tiffanian?, Paleocene
Remarks:	The following is based upon my reading of Simpson, 1927b, which isn't the original description. The first mammal fossils from the Paskapoo Formation were introduced to the Paleontological Society of America in good time to experience World War One (p.1). Their public debut occurred on New Year's Day in 1914. Barnum Brown and WD Matthew let it be known that they obtained some teeth and jaws and, of wider significance, these fossils helped establish the age of the Formation. A list of tentative identifications was compiled by Matthew, and there were obvious overlaps with the Lancian mammals from Wyoming. These similarities strongly suggested an Upper Cretaceous age because... Whoops It later transpired that specimens had got muddled up. Those faunal overlaps were caused by intruders collected from Hell Creek in Montana (p.9). The error was spotted when the catalogue numbers were rechecked, and that wasn't until Simpson was preparing this 1927 paper for publication. None of the Paskapoo specimens were known from the Upper Cretaceous. These, and subsequent mammals, claimed to be Paleocene, and geologists came to agree with them. They'd been collected by Brown in 1910 when he was hunting dinos along the Red Deer River. At one point he tripped over the rubble left by an impressive landslide. About a hundred metres of canyon wall had fallen from around 50 metres higher (p.1), and Brown saw fossils in an isolated block of stone. It contained remains from at least seven taxa. A glimpse of Catopsalis calgariensis This new species was the sole multi among them, and it was described by Russell. That work hadn't appeared when Simpson was writing his summary of the fauna, but he was allowed a sneak preview (p.2). He agreed with Russell's conclusions and added a new photo of an m2 molar. As I've not seen the description, my information on the species is presently less than extensive. In comparison to C. foliatus the holotype (also an m2) is bigger, more robustly built and the final cusp of the buccal row is reduced. The proportions also differ, as this crown is relatively wider. The molar is 9.0mm long and 8.5 wide. The type of C. foliatus (the corresponding tooth) measures 6.6 by 5.7. Holotype The holotype, collected in 1924, is in the Alberta collection. Further material is in the Wyoming collection. Sumo-heavyweight. Additional note "Descendant of C. fissidens", (John H Burkitt).
Reference:	Russell (1926), A new species of the genus Catopsalis Cope from the Paskapoo formation of Alberta, American Journal of Science, vol 12, p.230-234.

Link: American Museum of Natural History on-line Archives http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/3143/1/N0267.pdf Simpson, 1927b is presently freely accessible in pdf format.

Species:	Catopsalis joyneri Sloan RE & Van Valen L, 1965
Place:	Bug Creek Anthills, Montana & Wyoming & Saskatchewan
Country:	USA & Canada
Age:	Upper Cretaceous? - Puercan, Paleocene
Remarks:	Lofgren, 1995 provides some information starting on page 90. His research concerns McGuire Creek, Montana. The type fossil, along with many other colleagues, used to revel in the Bug Creek Anthills of Montana during the Puercan part of the Paleocene. The species may also have frequented Saskatchewan. McGuire Creek localities added more numbers to the supply, and Lofgren provided measurements from both there and the larger Bug Creek Anthills collection. I'm sticking to legnths and combining information from both presented tables. Postcanines Uppers: P4 (7 specimens) 2.98-3.47mm; M1 (11 sp.) 7.56-8.65mm; M2 (5 measurable sp.) 5.08-5.80mm. Lowers: m1 (14 sp.) 5.71-7.17cm; m2 (4 sp.) 5.74-6.10mm. The McGuire Creek P4 has heavy wear and its cusp formula is unclear: 1:5?:? (buccal to lingual, p.91). The solitary buccal cusp is small, and sits upon a cingulum to the rear of the crown. What remains of the middle row is similar to C. alexanderi other than for being smaller. No trace of lingual cusps remains. An upper M2 molar is moderately worn, and its cusps number 1:3:3. The buccal cusp is like a ridge towards the front of the tooth. The middle row cusps increase in size along the line. Lingual cusps are close to one another in terms of size. A lower m1 is described as being similar to previously collected Bug Creek Anthill speciemens. As little more was said beyond its cusp formula, 5:4, little scope is available for eulogising it further. Holotype UMVP 1494 is a right maxilla with complete palate now being educated at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Additional notes One tooth studies at Wyoming and is Puercan. The Montana material is now thought to be Paleocene, though the Canadian site, (Cypress Hill region), is considered Upper Cretaceous. In their 2000 study of the cranium of Kryptobaatar, (see Bibliography), Wible and Rougier constantly use inverted commas for the generic name with this species; "Catopsalis" joyneri. I couldn't find an explanation. I presume it means this species may belong to a different genus.
Reference:	Sloan & Van Valen (1965), Cretaceous mammals from Montana. Science, 148, p.220-227.

Links: Rocky Mountain Geology 33 (1), 1998 http://home.gg.uwyo.edu/publicationsandservices/RMG/RMGAbstract.asp?ArticleID=21 A new important record of earliest Cenozoic mammalian history: geologic setting, Multituberculata, and Peradectia. The abstract by Eberle JJ & Lillegraven JA. Tyrant’s Day, by Kelly Taylor http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/paleonet/vop/mmoments/tday.html Judging by the shadowy profile, this is perhaps C. joyneri. D & D Fossils & Meteorites http://www.ddfossils.com/catcretmamto.html A 6mm tooth. Click on the image for an enlargement.

Species:	Catopsalis alexanderi Middleton MD, 1982
Place:	Littleton Local Fauna, Colorado, Montana & Wyoming
Country:	USA
Age:	lower Puercan, Paleocene
Remarks:	Eberle, 2003 (p.149-150) includes a description of a specimen from South Table Mountain, Colorado. It's a right lower molar, (m2). Although a bit longer, it's otherwise very similar to material described in 1982. To get some idea of relative size between the various species, it's smaller than the corresponding teeth from C. calgariensis and C. fissidens, but larger than C. joyneri. The main contrast to C. foliatus is also a matter of smaller size, although only one m2 is known for that species. Rather than length, the distinguishing dimension is width. C. alexanderi is significantly narrower. The South Table Mountain is a bit larger than the Littleton fossils, but the difference isn't sufficient to justify a separate taxon. The stomach treatment The new fossil has lost most of its enamel, so the length/width of 7.5 and 5.15mm are somewhat minimalised. This was probably caused by a crocodile. Should you feel like testing this hypothesis, encourage your croc to swallow some mammalian teeth, and wait for them to come out the other end. This probably won't make much difference to the shape, but the gastric juices will eradicate most of the enamel. Several other mammal molars from the location evidentially underwent a similar treatment. Holotype The holotype, UCM 34979, is part of a right dentary in the collection of the University of Colorado Museum in Boulder. It includes a premolar and two molars, (p4-m2). Lofgren, 1995 provides information on further specimens from McGuire Creek, Montana. He reports this as being a middling-sized representative of the genus (p.91), and appears to be middling in terms of time as well. Members of the species have been arrested at further Puercan localities including the Polecat Bench Formation (Wyoming), and Montana's Upper Hell Creek and lower Tullock Formations. Lofgren identified three specimens from McGuire Creek and Harbicht Hill. Their sizes are close to those recorded earlier by Middleton; lengths (upper): M1 9.15mm, M2 6.87; (lower): m2 about 6.76mm. These teeth are larger than those of another former resident of Montana, C. joyneri. These two species have never been found to share the same locality. The upper M1 is unworn but broken at the front on the buccal side (p.92). Only five cusps have survived there. As its proportions are similar to C. joyneri, it's likely there were originally seven or more. Both other rows contain eight cusps. The lingual row commences about 10% of the crown length from the front margin. An M2 molar was recovered from Harbicht Hill. Its size and cusp formula of 1:3:3 (buccal to lingual) correspond with C. alexanderi McGuire Creek also yielded a lower molar and some incisors. The m2 has been modestly worn but part of its rear is missing. Its cusp formula is 3:2 (or more). The lower incisors aren't formally assigned to a species but, on the grounds of size, they are probably from this one. Additional notes Some material of this species was previously assigned to C. foliatus and C. joyneri. Three specimens are listed on the AMNH database, New York with others at the Peabody. This was a heavyweight multi.
Reference:	Middleton (1982), A new species and additional material of Catopsalis (Mammalia, Multituberculata) from the western interior of North America. Journal of Paleontology, 56 (5), p.1197-1206.

Link: Life (and Death) Amongst Mammals in the Denver Basin, Colorado http://www.dmns.org/denverbasin/p_ab_eberle.html Denver Basin Project Abstracts, May 2001. This one’s by Jaelyn J Eberle.

Species:	Catopsalis collariensis
Place:	Red Deer River
Country:	Canada
Age:	Puercan, Paleocene
Remarks:	The type fossil is listed as an employee at the AMNH, New York.
Reference:

Species:	Catopsalis waddleae Buckley GA, 1995
Place:	Simpson Quarry, Montana
Country:	USA
Age:	Puercan, Paleocene
Remarks:	Sumo-heavyweight.
Reference:

Genus: Lambdopsalis Chow M & Qi T, 1978

Species:	Lambdopsalis bulla Chow & Qi, 1978
Place:	Nomogen, Bayan Ulan & Subeng
Country:	China
Age:	Upper Paleocene
Remarks:	This genus of probable burrowers provides the first direct evidence of mammal fur. (This became out of date as of May 2002. Eomaia is now the record-holder, from the Lower Cretaceous of China.) Hair is highly unlikely to fossilize. There are indications that it first appeared on non-mammalian therapsids, way back in the Triassic, or even earlier. This is inferred from small hollows on the bone of the snout, which may have and probably did provide space for concentrations of nerves and blood vessels. It’s a feature also known from cats. (If you have one at home, please don’t cut it open to check). This adaptation allows Felix to use its whiskers, (specialized hairs), as effective sensory organs. However, exceptional fossils from China do actually include mammal fur, some of which is from Lambdopsalis. These are coprolites, fossilized crap, which contain the undigested leftovers excreted by carnivores. (With thanks to Martin Jehle. See the link at the head of this section.) The Peabody has a couple of cast L. specimens, including one of the type fossil. According to their database, Wyoming University has a cast shell assigned to the order Chelonia, (aka tortoises and turtles), UW-44093. I realize some strict interpretations don’t classify multis as mammals, but this is the first time I’ve found one referred to as a turtle. I can't find any other support for this novel use of the word Lambdopsalis. News from Subeng Missiaen & Smith, 2008 reports the presence of over a hundred teeth for this species from the Subeng fauna (p.359). That qualifies it as relatively common; a situation reflected in other local faunas. However, apart from adding a new locality to the inventory, this collection added not a lot to what was already known.
Reference:	Chow & Qi (1978), Paleocene mammalian fossils from Nomogen Formation of Inner Mongolia. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 16(2), p.77-85.

Links: Contributions to Geology 24(1), 1986 http://home.gg.uwyo.edu/publicationsandservices/CG/CGAbstract.asp?ArticleID=353&type=RI At one time, the validity of this genus was questioned. This abstract by Miao Desui, serves to preserve the reputation and status of Chinese multis. "Cladistic analysis clearly documents phylogenetic unity of the Asian Tertiary multituberculates Prionessus, Sphenopsalis, and Lambdopsalis." Osi ürülékek - szormentén http://www.sulinet.hu/eletestudomany/archiv/1997/9736/tudvil/urulek/urulek.html A fascinating article in Hungarian. I wonder what it says? However, it does include some photos of 60 million year old droppings and hair. Berliner Zeitung, 5.3.1997 http://www.berlinonline.de/wissen/berliner_zeitung/archiv/1997/0305/none/0152/ Älteste Säugetierhaare entdeckt, (German). 'Oldest mammal hair discovered'. University of Wyoming, Jason A Lillegraven http://home.gg.uwyo.edu/people/faculty/pubsArticles.asp?PersonID=136 Included is a link to the on-line Wyoming catalogue, featuring the oddly named turtle.

Genus: Prionessus Matthew WD & Granger W, 1925

Species:	Prionessus lucifer Matthew WD & Granger W, 1925
Place:	Gashato, Naran & Nomogen, Bayan Ulan, & Subeng
Country:	Mongolia & China
Age:	Upper Paleocene
Remarks:	The following is based upon my reading of Matthew, Granger and Simpson, 1928, which isn't the original description. Prionessus was originally founded on an edentulous lower jaw harvested in 1923 (p.1). Further specimens were harvested four years later, and these provided the material for the 1928 paper. Among the expanded collection were: a lower jaw fragment with both molars, part of an upper jaw with molars, and isolated and partial teeth. These came from relatively small multis. Lower molars The available m1 is broken and the m2 worn. Mammals can be careless with their teeth, and take pleasure in using them. As is usual for later multis, the first molar is both longer and narrower than the second. It has two rows of cusps but the numbers are uncertain; perhaps five buccal and four lingual cusps. The authors term the crown of m2 subtriangular, and the cusp rows boast of three and two members, (buccal and lingual respectively). These are large, squarish and rather featureless cusps. The final pair of the external trio share parts of their base with each other. Uppers Excepting for a single alveolus, the fragment of maxilla is broken off in front of the molars. Comparisons with other multis indicated this hole probably played host to a premolar. Upper molars had three cusp rows with the likely formula of 6:7:5 for the M1. While the buccal and middle rows were of similar lengths, the latter was wider. The lingual line thins as it progresses forwards, and peters out before reaching the front of the crown. As with the lowers, the cusps show no interest in ornamentations such as furrows or ridges. This contrasts with the approach of many of their North American relatives from the Cretaceous and Paleocene, although wear might be partly to blame. As with its lower counterpart, M2 also has a subtriangular shape. Its maximum width and length are much the same as each other. In contrast to the lower, the shortest cusp row is the lingual one (p.2), and the formula is probably 1:3:3. Relationships The authors suggested affinities with Catopsalis, Meniscoessus and Taeniolabis rather than with ptilodontids (p.4). They accepted the possibility of a particularly close relationship with Catopsalis. Subeng Missiaen & Smith, 2008 reports on the presence of the genus in the Subeng fauna. A fragmentary upper molar was arrested there. It wasn't referred to a species. There's the possibility that material already collected from elsewhere involves two species, with the recognisable distinction being the number of roots of the p4 premolar. That's a topic that a lone right molar is ill-equipped to discuss.
Reference:	Matthew & Granger (1925), Fauna and correlation of the Gashato Formation of Mongolia. Am. Museum Novitates, 189, p.1-12.

Link: Nature, v.394, n6691 http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v394/n6691/extref/394364a0.appendix1.html "Appendix I. Faunal lists of 33 main Palaeogene local faunas from the Mongolian Plateau." Parts of the Mongolian Plateau are in Inner Mongolia, China. The Palaeogene runs from about 65 until 23 million years ago.

Genus: Sphenopsalis Matthew WD , Granger W & Simpson GG, 1928 'wedge scissors' Remarks: The generic name refers to the shearing cusps of the molars, and also points to possible allegiances with Catopsalis from America.

Species:	Sphenopsalis nobilis Matthew WD, Granger W & Simpson GG, 1928
Place:	Gashato & Nomogen
Country:	Mongolia & China
Age:	Upper Paleocene
Remarks:	The following is based on my reading of Matthew et al, 1928. This is a meaty multi approaching the dimensions of Taeniolabis. That surely qualifies it as Sumo-super-heavyweight in the ever so scientific jargon of this section. The information Matthew and Co had available was very limited, and I haven't heard of any significant improvements since. They had one reasonably complete tooth and a few bits from others. What a whopper! The best specimen is an upper molar (M2). It's 11mm wide and 14 long (p.2). As Taeniolabis reached something like the size of a beaver, that comparison shouldn't be all too inaccurate for this beast (I hope). Multi upper molars typically have three rows of cusps and, in this case, the rows from buccal to lingual contain one, two and four cusps respectively. These cusps bear high, 'narrow and sharp crests', (as expressed on p.4), which is atypical for multis. This adaptation will be mentioned below, so you won't be able to sensibly claim you weren't informed. Other teeth A number of isolated fragments probably come from the same genus (p.3). There's the front of a lower molar (m1). The complete crown would've been seven or eight millimetres across. That might be a bit small for a precise match, but it's not all that far from expectations. Present are two rows of simple cusps devoid of fussy elaborations such as ridges or grooves, as also applies for the uppers. They possess the sharp crests too. Even if this isn't from the same species, the structure is complementary enough to pass muster as at least very close. A further partial m1 is broadly similar in architecture, as far as they're comparable. In this case, the width at the front of the crown is 10.6mm, and that matches specimens of Taeniolabis taoensis (p.4). Things to do with sharp crests Cutting. Generally, multi molars are crushers and grinders. Food items were sliced by the specialised premolars, although not in basal representatives. Molars were responsible for milling. In this case, the crests fit better with slicing duties. Teeth are the hardest parts of a mammalian body, but they're remarkably plastic across the generations, and adaptations tend to train them for optimum performance in attacking the preferred food. These blades seem to be aids for a particular diet. What that may have been will probably never be known, but it was doubtlessly yummy. Affinities The authors tentatively accepted a possible relationship between Sphenopsalis and Catopsalis and Taeniolabis. With reference to the shearing specialisations of the molars: "The adaptive type is very different from that of Taeniolabis, with its broad crushing teeth, but Catopsalis is somewhat intermediate in adaptation." Nevertheless, they identified similarities between T. and what was known of S.. They also noted "the inadequacy of the known material" for confidence concerning relationships. Holotype AMNH 21736 is a left upper molar, which resides in New York. The origins of the specific name are doubtlessly interesting, but they're not mentioned in the paper.
Reference:	Matthew et al (1928), Paleocene multituberculates from Mongolia. Am. Museum Novitates, 331, p.1-4.

Link: AMNH, Matthew et al, 1928 http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/3113/1//v2/dspace/ingest/pdfSource/nov/N0331.pdf The paper is presently freely accessible on-line in pdf format.

Genus: Taeniolabis Cope ED, 1882a Aka: Catopsalis (partly); Polymastodon Cope, 1882b (partly) Remarks: Further information on this genus is contained in Martin Jehle’s article, linked at the top of this section. Reference: Cope (1882), Mammalia in the Laramie Formation. American Naturalist, 16, p.830-831.

Reassigned species: T. attetuatus see T. taoensis; T. scalper Cope, 1884 see T. taoensis; T. sulcatus Cope, 1882 see T. taoensis; T. teiserialis Granger & Simpson, 1929 see T. taoensis

Links: The Prehistoric Data Files, Taeniolabis http://www.angellis.net/Web/DFG-mam/Taeniolabis.htm Another sketch by VRW. Däggdjurens Tid http://www.commersen.se/djurtid/arter/tidiga/primitiva/taeniol.html Taeniolabis goes walkies. This project’s fun. Fiddle around with the arrows for further information, in Swedish. It also gives a good indication of size, ca. 50cm.

Species:	Taeniolabis taoensis (Cope ED, 1882)
Aka:	Catopsalis pollux Cope, 1882b; Polymastodon attenuatus Cope, 1885; P. latimolis Cope, 1885; P. selenodus Osborn HF & Earle C, 1895; P. taoensis Cope, 1882; T. attetuatus; T. scalper Cope 1884; T. sulcatus Cope 1882a; T. triserialis Granger & Simpson, 1929
Place:	Nacimiento Formation, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming & Ravenscrag Formation, Saskatchewan
Country:	USA & Canada
Age:	Puercan, Paleocene
Remarks:	The following is based on my reading of Broom, 1914. Polymastodon was erected for a fragmentary skull and bits of lower jaw, and it turned out to be co-generic with Taeniolabis. A very helpful near complete skull subsequently arrived at the American Museum of Natural History. There was a slight snag as, when found in New Mexico, it was in lots of little pieces (p.127). Fortunately, a kindly soul called Granger had lots of glue and plenty of patience, so he put Humpty Taeni together again. Size Most multis were small beasts, but not Taeniolabis taoensis. This skull manages a length of over fifteen centimetres. As the maximum width is much the same, this was a broad-headed, sumo-super-heavyweight multi with a short, rounded snout. It' as big as a beaver. I'd love to take one out for a walk in the park, but the flatness of the the top of the head (there's not too much difference in height between the snout and brain box), suggests it'd be too stupid to understand many commands. If it were expected to fetch a stick, then Taeniolabis would possibly respond with a vacant stare and a shrug of its dumbfounded shoulders. Some dogs behave like that as well, but this is because they're exceptionally clever. Skull Normally, for mammals from this time, a decent jaw is a cause for celebration. The specimen described by Broom is astonishingly good. There was little missing from the head, and I've risked a couple of inaccurate sketches based loosely on those in the paper. Taeniolabis in profile. Taeniolabis from on high. If you look at most mammals, the skull is longer than broad. It's proportionately short in this case. It's short compared to most multis as well. Especially when seen from the side, the orbit for the eye is obviously small. The cheek area has a strong zygomatic arch. The roof of the broad snout is built by the nasal bones. While being somewhat broader further back, these are wide along their whole course. Broom couldn't find an 'extra' bone towards the front termed a septomaxilla, although he couldn't rule out the possibility of a small version being present. It's now clear that at least most multis didn't have such a thing. (It has been reported for a basal Jurassic multi, but this has been disputed. Others view it as an artefact caused by damage.) As Broom was particularly interested in comparisons with the egg-laying monotremes of Australia, perhaps he was hoping for one. Monotreme jaws have such bones, and he thought multis were probably allies. The main bone of the upper jaw is the maxilla, and this is long for a mammal. The rear end provides about 40% of the zygomatic arch. It meets the parietal at the top of the orbit, and this arrangement bars the frontal from contributing to the rim of the eye hole (p.128). This is in contrast to the general situation among living Mammalia. Most extant mammals also have proportionately larger frontals. A bone called the jugal often gets involved in constructing the zygomatic arch, but not in the case of Taeniolabis. It's small and stored away as just the lower rim of the orbit. (The rear of the jugal was somewhat damaged, and the reconstruction offered involved a measure of educated guesswork.) Additional Notes Some fossils live at the Peabody, Yale. I've heard a further skull may be in the Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC.
References:	Cope (1882), the correct reference will hopefully follow.
	Osborn & Earle (1895), Fossil mammals of the Puerco beds. Collection of 1892. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. vii, p.1-70, with 21 figs.
	Granger & Simpson (1929), A revision of the Tertiary Multituberculata. Bulletin Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 56, p.601-676, 43 figs.
	Simons NB (1986), Taeniolabis Cope, 1882 (Mammalia, Multituberculata),: proposed designation of Polymastodon taoensis Cope, 1882 as type species. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 43(3), p.310-311.

Species:	Taeniolabis lamberti Simmons NB, 1987
Place:	Tullock Formation, Montana
Country:	USA
Age:	Puercan, Paleocene
Remarks:	Sumo-heavyweight.
Reference:	Simmons (1987), A revision of Taeniolabis (Mammalia: Multituberculata), with a new species from the Puercan of eastern Montana. J. of Paleont. 61(4), p.794-808.

Link: Nancy B Simmons, AMNH http://research.amnh.org/mammalogy/simmons.html Nancy Simmons demonstrates how to surprise a vampire.

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Help: Should anybody have any further information, I'd be pleased to hear of it. Regarding references and Bibliography: I haven't and can't verify all the references, so beware. Traditional papers used in constructing this page are in the bibliography. If you feel these are too few, then send some more. With thanks to all the featured sources. Trevor Dykes, February 2002 Last update: 14.2.2008 ktdykes@arcor.de

With further thanks due to: Dr John Alroy, North American Fossil Mammal Systematics Database http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/~alroy/nafmsd.html The source of a great deal of the above information, including the body mass estimates. The Prehistoric Data Files http://www.angellis.net/Web/PDfiles/marsups.pdf Martin Jehle, Paleocene mammals of the world, Class Mammalia http://www.paleocene-mammals.de/pal1.htm BIOSIS, The Index to Organism Names http://www.biosis.org.uk/triton/indexfm.htm The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology BFV Online, (John Damuth) http://www.bfvol.org/ John H Burkitt, Mammals, A World Listing of Living and Extinct Species http://cougarhillweb.org/mammals.pdf Welcome back on-line. The Peabody On-line VP Catalogue http://george.peabody.yale.edu/vp/

Bibliography: Broom R (1914), On the structure and affinities of Multituberculata, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 33(8), p.115-134. Clemens WA, Wilson GP & Molnar RE (2003), An enigmatic (Synapsid?) tooth from the Early Cretaceous of New South Wales, Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 23 (1), p.232-237. Eberle JJ (2003), Puercan mammalian systematics and biostratigraphy in the Denver Formation, Denver Basin, Colorado, Rocky Mountain Geology, 38(1), p.143-169. Higgins P (2003), A Wyoming succession of Paleocene mammal-bearing localities bracketing the boundary between the Torrejonian and Tiffanian North American Land Mammal "Ages", Rocky Mountain Geology, 38 (2), p.247-280. Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Hurum JH (2001), Phylogeny and systematics of multituberculate mammals, Palaeontology, Vol 44 (3), p.389-429. Kielan-Jaworowska Z, Hurum JH & Lopatin AV (2005), Skull structure in Catopsbaatar and the zygomatic ridges in multituberculate mammals, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 50(3), p.487-512. Lofgren DL (1995), The Bug Creek Problem and the Cretaceous-Tertiary Transition at McGuire Creek, Montana, University of California Publications Geological Sciences, vol. 140, 185pp. Matthew WD, Granger W & Simpson GG, (1928), Paleocene multituberculates from Mongolia, American Museum Novitates, 331, p.1-4. McKenna MC & Bell SK, (1997), Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press. Missiaen, P & Smith T (2008), The Gashatan (late Paleocene) mammmal fauns from Subeng, Inner Mongolia, China, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 53(3), p.357-378. Scott CS (2003), Late Torrejonian (Middle Paleocene) mammals from South Central Alberta, Canada. Journal of Paleontology, 77(4), p.745-768. Scott CR, Fox RC & Youzwyshyn GP (2002), New earliest Tiffanian (late Paleocene) mammals from Cochrane 2, southwestern Alberta, Canada. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 47 (4), p.691-704. Simpson GG (1927b), Mammalian fauna and correlation of the Paskapoo Formation of Alberta, American Museum Novitates, 268, p.1-10. Weil A (1999), Multituberculate phylogeny and mammalian biogeography in the Late Cretaceous and earliest Paleocene Western Interior of North America, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, p.1-243. Weil A (2005), Living large in the Cretaceous, Nature, 433, p.116-117. Wible JR & Rougier GR (2000), Cranal anatomy of Kryptobaatar dashzevegi Mammalia, Multituberculata), and its bearing on the evolution of mammalian characters. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 247, p.1-124.