Sekhmetops
genus of extinct placental mammals
Sekhmetops (meaning "Sekhmet face") is an extinct genus of carnivorous hyaenodont mammals from the Early Oligocene Jebel Qatrani Formation of Egypt. The genus contains two species, S. africanus and S. phiomensis, both of which were originally assigned to the genus Pterodon.
Discovery and naming
In 1903, British paleontologist Charles W. Andrews participated in an expedition to Fayûm, Egypt, during which several new vertebrate fossils were collected. Later that year, he published a brief note describing these specimens. He classified one of these, a partial right jaw bone (specimen NHMUK M8503), as a new species of the genus Pterodon, noting how its large size distinguished it from the type species of this genus. The specific name, africanus, is a Latin adjective meaning "from Africa". In a 1906 book, Andrews described and figured the specimen in more depth. He also provisionally referred a left humerus and right femur to this species.
In 1909, American paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn described another species of Pterodon, P. phiomensis, based on the holotype (AMNH 13253), a nearly complete left lower jaw. He also referred a second comparable lower jaw, AMNH 13254.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Sekhmetops” as genus of extinct placental mammals. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as genus of extinct placental mammals. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 22, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q132505881. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1903, 1906 and 1909.
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This entry incorporates text from “Sekhmetops” 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.