Xiphodon fossil map
Where fossils of Xiphodon have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 30 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 30 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 | 41.03–33.9 million years ago (Bartonian to Priabonian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Xiphodontidae |
| Named by | Cuvier 1822 |
| Fossil records | 56 occurrences at 23 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | France, Spain, United Kingdom, Switzerland |
| Rock formations | txn:42564, Bembridge Limestone, Collegats |
About Xiphodon
Xiphodon (from Ancient Greek ξίφος (xíphos), meaning "sword", and ὀδούς (odoús), meaning "tooth") is the type genus of the extinct Palaeogene artiodactyl family Xiphodontidae. It, like other xiphodonts, was endemic to Western Europe and lived from the Middle Eocene up to the earliest Oligocene. Fossils from Montmartre in Paris, France that belonged to X. gracilis were first described by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1804. Although he assigned the species to Anoplotherium, he recognized that it differed from A. commune by its dentition and limb bones, later moving it to its own subgenus in 1822. Xiphodon was promoted to genus rank by other naturalists in later decades. It is today defined by the type species X. gracilis and two other species, X. castrensis and X. intermedium.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Xiphodon (revision 1375728928), 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: Q8044739.
