Gobiconodon fossil map
Where fossils of Gobiconodon have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 115 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 115 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 143.1–2.58 million years ago (Berriasian to Piacenzian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous, Paleogene, Neogene |
| Family | Gobiconodontidae |
| Named by | Trofimov 1978 |
| Fossil records | 44 occurrences at 16 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Russia, Mongolia, China, United States, Spain, Belgium, United Kingdom, France |
| Rock formations | Ilek, Cloverly, Dzunbain, Yixian, Oshih, Artoles |
About Gobiconodon
Gobiconodon is an extinct genus of carnivorous mammals (or possibly non-mammalian mammaliaforms) belonging to the family Gobiconodontidae. Undisputed records of Gobiconodon are restricted to the Early Cretaceous of Asia and North America, but isolated teeth attributed to the genus have also been described from formations in England and Morocco dating as far back as the Middle Jurassic. Species of Gobiconodon varied considerably in size, with G. ostromi, one of the larger species, being around the size of a modern Virginia opossum. Like other gobiconodontids, it possessed several speciations towards carnivory, such as shearing molariform teeth, large canine-like incisors and powerful jaw and forelimb musculature, indicating that it probably fed on vertebrate prey. Unusually among predatory mammals and other eutriconodonts, the lower canines were vestigial, with the first lower incisor pair having become massive and canine-like. Like the larger Repenomamus there might be some evidence of scavenging.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Gobiconodon (revision 1368879837), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q1011259.
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