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Cyclopidius californicus

Osteichthyes - Merycoidodontidae

Taxonomy
Leptauchenia (Sespia) californica was named by Stock (1930). Its type specimen is UCMP 27720, a partial skull (Facial and palatal portions of skull and portions of horizontal rami of lower jaw), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Morgan Canyon, South Mountain (UCMP V-75003), which is in an Arikareean fluvial-lacustrine sandstone/mudstone in the Sespe Formation of California.

It was recombined as Cyclopidius californica by Schlaikjer (1935); it was recombined as Cyclopidius californicus by Thorpe (1937); it was synonymized subjectively with Sespia nitida by Lander (1983), Lander (1998); it was recombined as Sespia californica by Schultz and Falkenbach (1968), Mason and Swisher (1989), CoBabe (1996), Hoffman and Prothero (2003), Hoffman and Prothero (2004), Stevens and Stevens (2007).

Sister species lacking formal opinion data

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1930Leptauchenia (Sespia) californica Stock
1935Cyclopidius californica Schlaikjer
1937Cyclopidius californicus Thorpe p. 242 figs. PLXXXVII, figs. 1-5
1968Sespia californica Schultz and Falkenbach p. 241
1989Sespia californica Mason and Swisher p. 3
1996Sespia californica CoBabe p. 578
2003Sespia californica Hoffman and Prothero
2004Sespia californica Hoffman and Prothero p. 156 figs. Figures 1-2, Tables 1-2
2007Sespia californica Stevens and Stevens p. 158

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
classOsteichthyes
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
RankNameAuthor
Mammaliamorpha
Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Euungulata
Artiodactylamorpha
Artiodactyla()
suborderTylopoda()
familyMerycoidodontidae
subfamilyLeptaucheniinaeSchultz and Falkenbach 1940
genusCyclopidius
speciescalifornicus()

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
J. M. Hoffman and D. R. Prothero 2004Smallest known species of Sespia; infraorbital fora-men above anterior border of P4.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialo
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: ground dwellingf
Diet: herbivoref
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Created: 2005-08-31 14:37:21
Modified: 2005-08-31 16:37:21
Source: f = family, o = order, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Lander 1998, Lillegraven 1979, Carroll 1988, Nowak 1999, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range: Arikareean or 29.50000 to 18.50000 Ma

Collections: one only


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Arikareean29.5 - 18.5USA (California) Leptauchenia californica (type locality: 17684)