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Parectypodus

genus of mammals (fossil)

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
Science and natureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 9, 2026
Entity authorityQ7136674 ↗
Source-derived summary

Parectypodus (meaning "besides Ectypodus") is an extinct genus of mammals that lived from Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to Eocene time in North America. It is a member of the extinct order of Multituberculata, suborder Cimolodonta, family Neoplagiaulacidae. It was named by G.L. Jepsen in 1930.

Species

Parectypodus armstrongi (Johnston, P.A. & Fox, R.C., 1984). From the Puercan (Paleocene) Ravenscrag Formation, site Rav W-1, Saskatchewan, Canada. This specimen resides in the collection of the University of Alberta.

Parectypodus foxi (Storer, J.E., 1991). This Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous)-age species from the Frenchman Formation of Saskatchewan is estimated to have weighed about 80 g.

Parectypodus laytoni (Jepsen, G.L., 1940; Sloan, R.E., 1966), also known as Ectypodus laytoni (Jepsen 1940). Remains are known from the Lower Tiffanian (Middle-Late Paleocene) Princeton Quarry, Wyoming (United States).

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Parectypodus” is genus of mammals (fossil). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Parectypodus, genus and mammals, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1930, 1984, 1991, 1940—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Parectypodus, genus and mammals is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “genus of mammals (fossil)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7136674. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1930, 1984, 1991 and 1940.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Parectypodus”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Parectypodus primary sources, Parectypodus archive and Parectypodus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Parectypodus”?
  2. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
  3. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Parectypodus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.