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Description
Another Eocene mammal, Stylinodon was a modestly large and heavily built creature with strong forelimbs used to power huge claws. It likely used these claws to dig for roots and tubers, which it then dispatched with huge thickly enameled teeth and a powerful bite. Stylinodon was a member of the taeniodonta, which contained a number of genra with increasingly specialized adaptations for digging up and processing tough plant matter, cumulating in Stylinodon mirus. The taeniodonta where a suborder within the order cimolesta, which contained many other Eocene oddities like the tillodonts and even the pantodonts, the most famous of which being Coryphodon. What is really fascinating though is that the cimolesta is actually found to be outside of placentalia proper, and so there was a time in which non placental eutherian mammals where inhabiting a wide variety of niches that would eventually be filled by true placentals. Only in the Paleocene and Eocene did this happen and thats why I'm so fascinated by it, all the post K-Pg oddballs are just so interesting!

Most depictions of Stylinodon are quite shrink wrapped to display its awesome teeth so I tried to make a more fleshed out version. Also the enamel is stained orange like some other mammals who use their teeth for gnawing regularly.

Description
Another Eocene mammal, Stylinodon was a modestly large and heavily built creature with strong forelimbs used to power huge claws. It likely used these claws to dig for roots and tubers, which it then dispatched with huge thickly enameled teeth and a powerful bite. Stylinodon was a member of the taeniodonta, which contained a number of genra with increasingly specialized adaptations for digging up and processing tough plant matter, cumulating in Stylinodon mirus. The taeniodonta where a suborder within the order cimolesta, which contained many other Eocene oddities like the tillodonts and even the pantodonts, the most famous of which being Coryphodon. What is really fascinating though is that the cimolesta is actually found to be outside of placentalia proper, and so there was a time in which non placental eutherian mammals where inhabiting a wide variety of niches that would eventually be filled by true placentals. Only in the Paleocene and Eocene did this happen and thats why I'm so fascinated by it, all the post K-Pg oddballs are just so interesting!

Most depictions of Stylinodon are quite shrink wrapped to display its awesome teeth so I tried to make a more fleshed out version. Also the enamel is stained orange like some other mammals who use their teeth for gnawing regularly.