Conoryctella

Conoryctella Temporal range: Early Paleocene
lower jaw fragment of Conoryctella dragonensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Placentalia (?)
Order:	†Taeniodonta
Family:	†Conoryctidae
Subfamily:	†Conoryctinae
Tribe:	†Conoryctellini Schoch, 1982
Genus:	†Conoryctella Gazin, 1939
Type species
†Conoryctella dragonensis Gazin, 1939
Species
†C. dragonensis (Gazin, 1939) †C. pattersoni (Schoch & Lucas, 1981)

Conoryctella ("cone digger of earth") is an extinct genus of taeniodonts from extinct tribe Conoryctellini within extinct subfamily Conoryctinae and extinct family Conoryctidae, that lived in North America during the early Paleocene.

History

C.L. Gazin named the genus and the type species, Conoryctella dragonensis, in 1939, based on a portion of the left maxilla (upper jawbone) and teeth collected in 1938.

Until 1981, the species was known only from the 1939 holotype described by Gazin.

A second species, C. pattersoni, was described by Robert M. Schoch and Spencer Lucas in 1982. The species was described based on material from the Nacimiento Formation, in New Mexico's San Juan Basin, and named after Bryan Patterson.

Type locality

The type locality is Dragon Canyon, found in the North Horn Formation, Utah.

Phylogeny

Placentalia	Atlantogenata Boreoeutheria †Palaeoryctida †Ambilestes †Procerberidae †Alveugena †Taeniodonta †Schowalteria †Stylinodontoidea †Onychodectidae †Conoryctidae †Eurodontinae †Conoryctinae †Conoryctini †Conoryctellini †Conoryctella †Conoryctella dragonensis †Conoryctella pattersoni