# Titanoides

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***Titanoides*** is an [extinct](/source/Extinct) [genus](/source/Genus) of [pantodont](/source/Pantodonta) [mammal](/source/Mammal) which lived in western North America during the late [Paleocene](/source/Paleocene) ([Tiffanian 2](/source/Tiffanian) to [Clarkforkian 2](/source/Clarkforkian) ages).[1][2] It was a medium-sized pantodont which weighed up to 150 kg (330 lb).[3] It was one of the largest mammals in its habitat, a tropical [swampland](/source/Swampland) where the main predators were semiaquatic reptiles such as [crocodilians](/source/Crocodilia) and [choristoderes](/source/Choristodera).[4]

*Titanoides* looked similar to a [bear](/source/Bear) in size and stance, though it has no close living relatives.[4][3] The skull is proportionally large, the tail is short, and the neck is thick and muscular. Its [canine teeth](/source/Canine_tooth) are distinctive: the upper canines are [saber](/source/Sabre)-like (very long from top-to-bottom), while the lower canines are shaped like hooked blades (with a long base from front-to-back). The limbs are strong and stocky, with five [digits](/source/Digit_(anatomy)) on each paw. The rear paws are not fully preserved, but the front paws have narrow curved claws rather than [hoofs](/source/Hoof), unlike other pantodonts. Despite their fearsome canines, the shape of the [postcanine](/source/Postcanine) teeth ([premolars](/source/Premolar) and [molars](/source/Molar_(tooth))) indicate that *Titanoides* were probably [herbivores](/source/Herbivores).[1] The claws and canines may have been used to dig up and slice through roots and [tubers](/source/Tuber).[5]

## Discovery and species

Footprints attributed to *Titanoides* are known from the [Firkanten Formation](/source/Firkanten_Formation) of [Svalbard](/source/Svalbard). These footprints are classified as the [ichnospecies](/source/Ichnospecies) *[Thulitheripus svalbardii](/source/Thulitheripus).*[6]

### *T. primaevus*

*Titanoides primaevus*, the [type species](/source/Type_species) of *Titanoides*, was named by [Gidley](/source/James_W._Gidley) (1917) for a few lower jaw fragments discovered in the [Williston Basin](/source/Williston_Basin), near [Buford, North Dakota](/source/Buford,_North_Dakota). These initial fragments were discovered in 1913 by [Vernon Bailey](/source/Vernon_Orlando_Bailey), who collected from the [Sentinel Butte Formation](/source/Sentinel_Butte_Formation). Gidley noted that it was "by far the largest mammal yet known from the Paleocene". Its large size and the shape of its molar teeth reminded him of [brontotheres](/source/Brontotheriidae), a family of hoofed mammals which he referred to as titanotheres. He established the name *Titanoides* in reference to the similarity.[7]

The exact site of Bailey's discovery was elusive for decades before being relocated by [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) paleontologists in 1951. They were able to collect many more fossils of a *Titanoides* skull, probably the same exact individual which the original jaw fragments came from.[1][2]

*T. primaevus* fossils are also known from [Alberta](/source/Alberta), [Saskatchewan](/source/Saskatchewan) (specifically the Roche Percée local fauna in the [Ravenscrag Formation](/source/Ravenscrag_Formation)), and the [Bison Basin](/source/Bison_Basin) of [Fremont County, Wyoming](/source/Fremont_County,_Wyoming).[8][9] Sites preserving *T. primaevus* fossils are generally considered to be Tiffanian 4 in age.[2][9]

### *T. gidleyi*

*Titanoides gidleyi* was named by [Jepsen](/source/Glenn_Lowell_Jepsen) (1930) for fossils from the Silver Coulee beds ([Fort Union Formation](/source/Fort_Union_Formation)) in the [Bighorn Basin](/source/Bighorn_Basin) of Wyoming. It is a medium-sized species which is slightly older than *T. primaevus*, dating to the Tiffanian 3.[2][10]

Simpson (1937) named another *Titanoides* species, *Titanoides zeuxis*, from the [Melville Formation](/source/Melville_Formation) in the [Crazy Mountain Basin](/source/Crazy_Mountain_Basin) near [Melville, Montana](/source/Melville,_Montana). It is a somewhat smaller species, also from the Tiffanian 3.[1] [Gingerich](/source/Philip_D._Gingerich) (1996) regarded *T. zeuxis* as a [synonym](/source/Synonym_(taxonomy)) of *T. gidleyi*. "*T. zeuxis*" fossils from the [Black Peaks Formation](/source/Black_Peaks_Formation) of Texas may also represent fossils of *T. gidleyi*.[2] [Simons](/source/Elwyn_L._Simons) (1960) named another *Titanoides* species from the Crazy Mountain Basin, *T. simpsoni*,[1] but later authors considered it to belong within *[Pantolambda](/source/Pantolambda)* instead.[2]

### *T. looki*

*Titanoides looki* was originally named as *Sparactolambda looki* by [Patterson](/source/Bryan_Patterson) (1939), who was collecting on behalf of the [Field Museum of Natural History](/source/Field_Museum_of_Natural_History). Patterson applied this name to well-preserved skull and postcranial fossils from the [DeBeque Formation](/source/DeBeque_Formation) (Tiffanian 5 to Clarkforkian 1) in [Plateau Valley](/source/Plateau_Valley_(Colorado)), near [De Beque, Colorado](/source/De_Beque,_Colorado).[5] Subsequent authors recognized "*Sparactolambda*" as a synonym of *Titanoides*, once more skull material of the latter was found in North Dakota.[8][1][2] Simons (1960) regarded *Sparactolambda looki* as a synonym of *T. primaevus* in particular, with other Colorado *Titanoides* fossils referable to *T. zeuxis.*[1] Gingerich (1996) argued that *T. looki* was still distinct enough to be considered its own species within *Titanoides*.[2] In any case, the best *Titanoides* fossils are represented by Patterson's Colorado collection.[5][1]

Prior to naming "*Sparactolambda*", Patterson reported collecting numerous *Titanoides* fossils from the Plateau Valley area through the 1930s.[11][12] However, in 1937 he classified these earlier finds as a different pantodont genus, *[Barylambda](/source/Barylambda)*.[13]

### *T. major*

*T. major* was named by Simons (1960) for a single lower jaw fossil from the Silver Coulee beds in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming. It appears to be the largest known *Titanoides* species and one of the oldest (Tiffanian 2 in age).[1][2]

### *T. nanus*

*T. nanus* was named by Gingerich (1996) for lower jaw fossils from the [Clarks Fork Basin](/source/Clarks_Fork_Yellowstone_River), a small offshoot of the Bighorn Basin at the north edge of Wyoming. *T. nanus* is the youngest known *Titanoides* species (Clarkforkian 2 in age) as well as the smallest, with its teeth measuring about 10-25% smaller than other species.[2]

## References

1. Simons, Elwyn L. (1960). "The Paleocene Pantodonta". *Transactions of the American Philosophical Society*. **50** (6): 3–99. [doi:10.2307/1005810](https://doi.org/10.2307/1005810). [ISSN 0065-9746](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0065-9746). [JSTOR 1005810](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1005810)

1. Gingerich, Philip D. (1996). ["New Species of Titanoides (Mammalia, Pantodonta) from the Middle Clarkforkian (Late Paleocene) of Northwestern Wyoming"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/30849394). *Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, The University of Michigan*. **29** (14): 403-412.

1. ["Pantodonts, uintatheres and xenungulates: The first large herbivorous mammals"](http://www.paleocene-mammals.de/large_herbivores.htm). *Paleocene mammals of the world*. 2001.

1. ["Titanoides"](https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndfossil/poster/PDF/Titanoides.pdf). *North Dakota Geological Survey*

1. Patterson, B. (1939). ["New Pantodonta and Dinocerata from the upper Paleocene of western Colorado"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/25250#page/5/mode/1up). *Geological Series of the Field Museum of Natural History*. **6**: 351-384.

1. Lüthje, Charlotta J.; Milàn, Jesper; Hurum, Jørn H. (2010). ["Paleocene tracks of the mammal Pantodont genus Titanoides in coal-bearing strata, Svalbard, Arctic Norway"](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724631003617449). *Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology*. **30** (2): 521–527. [doi:10.1080/02724631003617449](https://doi.org/10.1080/02724631003617449). [ISSN 0272-4634](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0272-4634)

1. Gidley, James William (1917). ["Notice of a new Paleocene mammal, a possible relative of the titanotheres."](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7765701#page/523/mode/1up). *Proceedings of the United States National Museum*. **52**: 431-435.

1. Gazin, C. Lewis (1956). ["Paleocene mammalian faunas of the Bison Basin in south-central Wyoming."](https://repository.si.edu/items/533074e6-515c-444b-b7ec-f5af415c253e). *Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections*. **131**: 1-57.

1. Sweedler, Rory E.; Rust, Kathleen L.; Beard, K. Christopher (2025-12-31). ["Late Paleocene (Tiffanian) Mammalia from the Titanoides Locality, Bison Basin, Wyoming: Revised Biostratigraphic Age and Paleobiogeographic Implications"](https://bioone.org/journals/annals-of-carnegie-museum/volume-91/issue-3/007.091.0303/Late-Paleocene-Tiffanian-Mammalia-from-the-Titanoides-Locality-Bison-Basin/10.2992/007.091.0303.full). *Annals of Carnegie Museum*. **91** (3). [doi:10.2992/007.091.0303](https://doi.org/10.2992/007.091.0303). [ISSN 0097-4463](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0097-4463)

1. Jepsen, G. L. (1930). "Stratigraphy and Paleontology of the Paleocene of Northeastern Park County, Wyoming". *Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society*. **69** (1): 463–528. [ISSN 0003-049X](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0003-049X). [JSTOR 984379](https://www.jstor.org/stable/984379)

1. Patterson, Bryan (1934). "A Contribution to the Osteology of "Titanoides" and the Relationships of the Amblypoda". *Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society*. **73** (2): 71–101. [ISSN 0003-049X](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0003-049X). [JSTOR 984758](https://www.jstor.org/stable/984758)

1. Patterson, Bryan (1935). "Second Contribution to the Osteology and Affinities of the Paleocene Amblypod Titanoides". *Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society*. **75** (2): 143–162. [ISSN 0003-049X](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0003-049X). [JSTOR 984533](https://www.jstor.org/stable/984533)

1. Patterson, Bryan (1937). ["A new genus Barylambda, for Titanoides faberi, Paleocene amblypod"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/25147#page/5/mode/1up). *Field Museum of Natural History Geological series*. **6** (16): 229-231.

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