Cimolodonts

Cimolodonts are an extinct group of multituberculate mammals that lived during the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene epochs. They are known primarily from fossilized teeth and jaw fragments found in North America and Europe. Cimolodonts belonged to the order Multituberculata, a diverse and long-lived lineage of mammals that existed for over 100 million years.

The defining characteristic of cimolodonts, and multituberculates in general, is the presence of specialized, blade-like lower incisors. These teeth were likely used for gnawing or scraping, suggesting a herbivorous or omnivorous diet. Their molars often had a distinctive row of cusps. Fossil evidence suggests that cimolodonts were generally small mammals, comparable in size to modern rodents. Their exact ecological roles are not fully understood, but they likely occupied various terrestrial niches. The family Cimolodontidae was erected to contain many of these genera. Their extinction is part of the broader K-Pg extinction event or occurred shortly thereafter, marking the end of the multituberculate reign.