Definition of cynodont in English:
A fossil carnivorous mammal-like reptile of the late Permian and Triassic periods, with well-developed specialized teeth.
- Suborder Cynodontia, order Therapsida: several families
- By Early Triassic times, cynodonts had diverged into large predaceous carnivores such as Cynognathus and moderate large omnivorous and herbivorous types such as Trirachodon and Diademodon.
- Evidence for therapsid fur centers on the presence of infraorbital pits and ridges in some lower Triassic cynodonts.
- Probably the most informative analysis of mammal-like reptiles as transitional forms is the one which focuses, in detail, on the presumed changes from advanced cynodonts to the earliest mammals.
Late 19th century: from Greek kuōn, kun- 'dog' + odous, odont- 'tooth'.
Definition of cynodont in:
- US English dictionary
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