Apterodon

Apterodon Temporal range: Late Eocene to Middle Oligocene
Two views of the skull of Apterodon macrognathus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Hyaenodonta
Superfamily:	†Hyainailouroidea
Family:	†Hyainailouridae
Subfamily:	†Apterodontinae
Genus:	†Apterodon Fischer, 1880
Type species
†Apterodon gaudryi Fischer, 1880
Species
†A. altidens (Schlosser, 1910) †A. gaudryi (Fischer, 1880) †A. langebadreae (Grohé, 2012) †A. macrognathus (Andrews, 1904) †A. rauenbergensis (Frey, 2010) †A. saghensis (Simons & Gingerich, 1976)
Synonyms
synonyms of genus: Dasyurodon (Andreae, 1887) synonyms of species: A. gaudryi: Apterodon flonheimensis (Andreae, 1887) Apterodon intermedius (Lange-Badré & Böhme, 2005) Dasyurodon flonheimensis (Andreae, 1887) A. macrognathus: Pterodon macrognathus (Andrews, 1904)

Apterodon ("without winged tooth") is an extinct genus of hyaenodontid mammals that lived from the late Eocene through the middle Oligocene epoch in Africa and Europe. It is closely related to the African Quasiapterodon, and together it, they comprise the hyainailurids subfamily Apterodontinae.

Uniquely among hyaenodonts, species of Apterodon were a semiaquatic, fossorial mammals. They possessed strong forelimbs that were well equipped for digging, compared to those of modern badgers, while the tail, torso and hindlimbs show adaptations similar to those of other aquatic mammals like otters and pinnipeds. The dentition was suited to feed on hard-shelled invertebrate prey, such as crustaceans and shellfish. They probably lived along African coastlines.

Borths and Stevens (2017.) described a new specimen of Apterodon macrognathus (among with other hyaenodonts) and concluded that the dental eruption of secondary dentition occurred much more slowly than in carnivorans.

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic relationships of genus Apterodon are shown in the following cladogram.

†Hyaenodonta	†Eoproviverra       †Boualitomidae           †Arfiidae     †Limnocyonidae       †Sinopidae       †Hyaenodontoidea         †Gazinocyon     †Pyrocyon       †Galecyon    †Afro‑Arabian clade      †Indohyaenodontidae     †Glibzegdouia       †Parvavorodon         †Koholiidae     †Tritemnodon       †Furodon     †Kyawdawia     †Paratritemnodon     †Teratodontidae     †Hyainailouroidea    †Apterodontinae   †Apterodon          †Apterodon altidens     †Apterodon gaudryi    ?  †Apterodon rauenbergensis       †Apterodon langebadreae       †Apterodon macrognathus      ?  †Apterodon sp. (Dur At-Talah escarpment, Libya)     †Apterodon saghensis       †Quasiapterodon           †Orienspterodon       †Hyainailourinae     †Hemipsalodon    ?  †Ischnognathus   †Akhnatenavus clade     †Akhnatenavus       †Paroxyaenini     †"Pterodon" sp. (BC 15’08)     †Hyainailourinae sp. (UON 84-359)     †Hyainailourinae sp. C (DPC 9243 & DPC 10315)     †Hyainailourinae sp. D (DPC 6545)         †Hyainailourinae sp. A (DPC 6555)     †"Pterodon" africanus     †Parapterodon       †"Pterodon" sp. (DPC 5036)     †"Pterodon" phiomensis   †Hyainailourini         †Kerberos     †"Pterodon" syrtos   †Pterodon clade     †Pterodontina           †Falcatodon     †Sectisodon       †Exiguodon     †Isohyaenodon zadoki           †Isohyaenodon  (†Isohyaenodontina)   †Isohyaenodon andrewsi       †Sivapterodon     †Hyainailouros bugtiensis         †Hyainailouros napakensis   †Hyainailouros       †Hyainailouros sulzeri     †Hyainailourinae sp. (GSN AD 100’96)       †Simbakubwa         †Leakitheriini     †Megistotherium         †Mlanyama     †Metapterodontini         †Pakakali     †Prionogalidae	†Lahimia clade †Arfia clade †Galecyon clade †Indohyaenodon clade †Tritemnodon clade †Kyawdawia clade †Hyainailouridae