PBDB Taxon

Basic info	Taxonomic history	Classification	Included Taxa
Morphology	Ecology and taphonomy	External Literature Search	Age range and collections

Osmotherium spelaeum

Mammalia - Carnivora - Mephitidae

Taxonomy

Osmotherium spelaeum was named by Cope (1896). It is the type species of Osmotherium.

Synonyms

Mephitis fodiens was named by Hall (1936) [lapsus calami for Mephitis fossidens].

It was synonymized subjectively with Osmotherium spelaeum by Hall (1936).
Mephitis fossidens was named by Cope (1896). It is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Port Kennedy Cave, which is in an Irvingtonian cave horizon in Pennsylvania.

It was recombined as Brachyprotoma fossidens by Brown (1908) and Hay (1930); it was synonymized subjectively with Osmotherium spelaeum by Hall (1936) and Kurten and Anderson (1980).
Mephitis leptops was named by Cope (1899).

It was recombined as Brachyprotoma leptops by Brown (1908) and Hay (1930); it was synonymized subjectively with Osmotherium spelaeum by Hall (1936) and Kurten and Anderson (1980).
Mephitis orthostichus was named by Cope (1896). It is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Port Kennedy Cave, which is in an Irvingtonian cave horizon in Pennsylvania.

It was synonymized subjectively with Osmotherium spelaeum by Hall (1936) and Kurten and Anderson (1980).
Pelycictis lobulatus was named by Cope (1896). It is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Port Kennedy Cave, which is in an Irvingtonian cave horizon in Pennsylvania. It is the type species of Pelycictis.

It was synonymized subjectively with Osmotherium spelaeum by Hall (1936) and Kurten and Anderson (1980).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1896	Mephitis fossidens Cope
1896	Mephitis orthostichus Cope
1896	Osmotherium spelaeum Cope
1896	Pelycictis lobulatus Cope
1896	Mephitis fossidens Cope p. 386
1896	Mephitis orthostichus Cope p. 389
1896	Pelycictis lobulatus Cope p. 390
1899	Mephitis leptops Cope
1902	Mephitis fossidens Hay p. 766
1902	Mephitis leptops Hay p. 766
1902	Osmotherium spelaeum Hay p. 766
1902	Pelycictis lobulatus Hay p. 766
1908	Brachyprotoma fossidens Brown
1908	Brachyprotoma leptops Brown
1920	Mephitis fossidens Baker
1920	Mephitis leptops Baker
1923	Mephitis fossidens Hay
1923	Mephitis leptops Hay
1930	Brachyprotoma fossidens Hay
1930	Brachyprotoma leptops Hay
1936	Mephitis fodiens Hall
1980	Osmotherium spelaeum Kurten and Anderson p. 164

Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data

Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
subclass	Synapsida
—	Therapsida	()
infraorder	Cynodontia	()
—	Mammaliamorpha
—	Mammaliaformes
class	Mammalia

Rank	Name	Author
—	Theriamorpha	(Rowe 1993)
—	Theriiformes	()
—	Trechnotheria
—	Cladotheria
—	Zatheria
subclass	Tribosphenida	()
subclass	Theria
—	Eutheria	()
—	Placentalia
—	Boreoeutheria
—	Laurasiatheria
—	Scrotifera
—	Ferae	()
—	Carnivoramorpha	Wyss and Flynn 1993
—	Carnivoraformes	Flynn et al.
order	Carnivora
suborder	Caniformia	Kretzoi 1943
infraorder	Canoidea	(Simpson 1931)
superfamily	Arctoidea	Flower 1869
—	Mustelida
family	Mephitidae	Bonaparte 1845
genus	Osmotherium	Cope 1896
species	spelaeum	Cope 1896

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.

†Osmotherium spelaeum Cope 1896

show all | hide all

Invalid names: Mephitis fodiens Hall 1936 [synonym], Mephitis fossidens Cope 1896 [synonym], Mephitis leptops Cope 1899 [synonym], Mephitis orthostichus Cope 1896 [synonym], Pelycictis lobulatus Cope 1896 [synonym]

Diagnosis

No diagnoses are available