Docodonta
extinct order of mammaliaforms
Docodonta is an order of extinct Mesozoic mammaliaforms (advanced cynodonts closely related to true crown-group mammals). They were among the most common mammaliaforms of their time, persisting from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous across the continent of Laurasia (modern-day North America, Europe, and Asia). They are distinguished from other early mammaliaforms by their relatively complex molar teeth.
Docodontan teeth have been described as "pseudotribosphenic": a cusp on the inner half of the upper molar grinds into a basin on the front half of the lower molar, like a mortar-and-pestle. This is a case of convergent evolution with the tribosphenic teeth of therian mammals. There is much uncertainty for how docodontan teeth developed from their simpler ancestors. Their closest relatives may have been certain Triassic "symmetrodonts", namely Woutersia, and Delsatia. The shuotheriids, another group of Jurassic mammaliaforms, also shared some dental characteristics with docodontans. One study has suggested that shuotheriids are closely related to docodontans, though others consider shuotheriids to be true mammals, perhaps related to monotremes.
For much of their history of study, docodontan fossils were represented by isolated teeth and jaws.
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