Triconodonta
Categories: Prehistoric mammals | Mammal stubs
| Triconodonts | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image:RepenomamusuZICA.png Repenomamus | ||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Families | ||||||||
|
Amphilestidae |
Triconodonta is the generic name for a group of mammals which were the ancestors of present-day mammals and which lived between the Triassic and the Cretaceous.
Their name, meaning "Three conical teeth", gives us one of their characteristics. They had the typical morphology of the proto-mammals; small, furry, tetrapod animals with long tails. They probably had a nocturnal lifestyle to avoid dinosaur predators, coming out from their burrows after dusk to hunt for small reptiles and insects.
nl:Triconodonta