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Atopotarus courseni

Mammalia - Carnivora - Desmatophocidae

Taxonomy
Atopotarus courseni was named by Downs (1956) [preserved on a limestone slab in articulation and partially but not fully compressed]. Its type specimen is LACM 1376, a partial skeleton (incomplete skeleton lacking hind quarters), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Coursen garden, which is in a Hemingfordian/Barstovian carbonate limestone/chert in the Monterey Formation of California. It is the type species of Atopotarus.

It was recombined as Allodesmus courseni by Mitchell (1966), Barnes (1969), Barnes (1972), Repenning and Tedford (1977), Barnes (1989), Kohno (1996), Deméré et al. (2003).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1956Atopotarus courseni Downs p. 115
1962Atopotarus courseni Packard p. 29
1966Allodesmus courseni Mitchell p. 24
1969Allodesmus courseni Barnes p. 3
1972Allodesmus courseni Barnes p. 39
1977Allodesmus courseni Repenning and Tedford p. 76
1989Allodesmus courseni Barnes p. 23
1995Atopotarus courseni Barnes and Hirota p. 334
1996Allodesmus courseni Kohno p. 389
2003Allodesmus courseni Deméré et al. p. 49 figs. Fig. 3.3
2008Atopotarus courseni Barnes p. 531
2018Atopotarus courseni Berta et al. p. 205 figs. Fig. 1
2018Atopotarus courseni Boessenecker and Churchill p. 19 figs. Table 9

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
subclassSynapsida
—Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
—Mammaliamorpha
—Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
RankNameAuthor
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—Boreoeutheria
—Laurasiatheria
—Scrotifera
—Ferae()
—CarnivoramorphaWyss and Flynn 1993
—CarnivoraformesFlynn et al.
orderCarnivora
suborderCaniformiaKretzoi 1943
infraorderCanoidea(Simpson 1931)
superfamilyArctoideaFlower 1869
—PanpinnipediaWolsan et al. 2020
—Pinnipedimorpha
—Pinnipedia()
familyDesmatophocidae
subfamilyAllodesminae()
genusAtopotarus
speciescourseni

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.

†Atopotarus courseni Downs 1956
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Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteuc
Ontogeny: modification of partsuc
Environment: marineuc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: amphibiousuc
Diet: carnivoreuc
Reproduction: viviparousuc
Created: 2012-04-17 11:16:56
Modified: 2012-04-16 20:16:56
Source: c = class, uc = unranked clade
References: Carreño and Cronin 1993, Gingerich 2003, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range: base of the Late/Upper Hemingfordian to the top of the Early/Lower Barstovian or 18.50000 to 12.50000 Ma

Collections: one only


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Late/Upper Hemingfordian - Early/Lower Barstovian18.5 - 12.5USA (California) Atopotarus courseni (type locality: 13061)