Parendotherium is an extinct genus of multituberculate mammal known from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian age) Camarillas Formation of Spain. The genus contains a single species, Parendotherium herreroi, known from an isolated tooth.

Taxonomy

The genus Parendotherium was named by Crusafont-Pairó and Adrover in 1966. The known fossil remains of the type species, Parendotherium herreroi, were found in Barremian (Lower Cretaceous)-age strata of Galve, Spain. According to McKenna and Bell (1997, p.37), Parendotherium is a junior synonym of Loxaulax. However, Kielan-Jaworowska and Hurum (2001, p.415) lists it as a separate genus.

It has been variably classified within the families Paulchoffatiidae, Plagiaulacidae, and Eobaataridae, or considered a nomen dubium or synonym of Loxaulax. A 2021 publication noted the presence of a prominent basal cusp on the holotype, a characteristic of the upper incisor of paulchoffatiids unseen in eobaatarids, and concluded that paulchoffatiid affinities were most likely.

  • Crusafont Pairo & Adrover (1966), El primer Mamifero del Mesozoica Espanol (The first mammal from the Mesozoic of Spain). Publicaciones de la Catedra de Paleontologia, Universidad de Barcelona 13, p.28-33.
  • Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Hurum JH (2001), "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals". Paleontology 44, p.389-429.
  • McKenna MC & Bell SK (1997), Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press.
  • Much of this information has been derived from