Meniscoessus
Meniscoessus is a genus of extinct mammal from the Upper Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. It was a member of the extinct order Multituberculata, lying within the suborder Cimolodonta and family Cimolomyidae.
The genus Meniscoessus was named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1882. It has also been known under the following names: Cimolomys (partly); Dipriodon (Marsh 1889); Halodon (Marsh 1889); Oracodon (Marsh 1889); Moeniscoessus; Selenacodon (Marsh 1889) (partly); and Tripriodon (Marsh 1889).
The generic name has a complicated history. It is attributed to Cope, 1882. Later, this was joined by "Meniscoessus" (Marsh 1889). The second usage apparently related to teeth described as belonging to small carnivorous dinosaurs. These were further christened Dipriodon, Tripriodon and others, including Triprotodon. Close similarities were then noticed with an already established dinosaur genus, Paronychodon (Cope 1876), also based on teeth from the Laramie Formation. Over time, an impressive school of names was synonymized under P. However, this is now considered a nomen dubium.
In 1929, George Gaylord Simpson published American Mesozoic Mammalia (Mem. of the Peabody Museum, 3 pt. 1; i-xv). The name Tripriodon ("three saw tooth") was resurrected. These "theropod" teeth were actually mammalian. The mammal T. since seems to have fallen from use.
The species Meniscoessus collomensis was named by Jason A. Lillegraven in 1987. Fossil remains were found in the Upper Cretaceous strata of the Williams Fork Formation, in Colorado (United States). This species is known from only one site. It weighed an estimated 1.4 kg.
The species Meniscoessus conquistus was named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1882. Remains were found in the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) strata of Colorado and of the St. Mary River Formation of Canada.
