| Allodesmus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skeleton ofA. gracilis at theNatural History Museum of Los Angeles County | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | †Desmatophocidae |
| Genus: | †Allodesmus Kellogg, 1922 |
| Species | |
| |
Allodesmus is an extinctgenus ofpinniped from the middle to lateMiocene ofCalifornia andJapan that belongs to theextinct pinnipedfamilyDesmatophocidae.
Allodesmus measured about 8 feet (2.4 m) long and weighed 800 pounds (360 kg).Allodesmus had the specific anatomical features found in modern polygynous pinnipeds:sexual dimorphism, strong canines for fights between bulls and teeth with well-defined growth zones, a result from periodic fasting (in order to defend theirharem, males would not take to the sea to feed during the breeding season).[1]
Allodesmus sinanoensis andA. packardi were previously assigned separate genera,Megagomphos andBrachyallodesmus, respectively, but many authors questioned this generic distinction, and the cladistic analysis by Boessenecker and Churchill (2018) found no support for this generic scheme.Atopotarus, referred toAllodesmus by some authors (e.g. Mitchell 1966), is distinct fromAllodesmus by the absence of a prenarial shelf and M2, double-rooted cheek teeth, a small, triangular postorbital process, and a mastoid process projecting ventral to the postglenoid process.[2][3]
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