CHAPTER xX 
HOMALODONTOTHERIA 
Tue forms making up the Homalodontotheria are char- 
acterized by a dentition which is clearly a derivative of 
that of Toxodontia, but is distinguished by the teeth being 
brachydont, by the canines being the teeth which tend to 
become tush-like, though not advancing to a marked 
degree. But the distinctive feature of the suborder is 
found in the feet, which are clawed, the ungual phalanges 
being deeply cleft; and further, the animals seem to have 
walked on the sides of the foot, suggesting the Ancylopoda; 
but there does not seem to have been a phylogeretic re- 
lationship, rather it is a case of parallel development. 
Most of the forms found are of considerable size, and they 
are relatively scarce in all the formations. 
The representatives of the group in the Deseado all 
belong to the genus Asmodeus, which seems to be directly 
ancestral to the Santa Cruz genus FHomalodontotherium, 
which seems to be the last representative of the series, no 
specimens referable to the suborder having been found 
in later beds. 
Asmodeus Ameghino 
Asmodeus Amegh., 1895, Bol. Inst. Geog. Argen., t. 15, p. 643. 
Asmodeus Amegh., 1897, Bol. Inst. Geog. Argen., t. 18, p. 476. 
The formula is $+4 4%, the upper incisors have pits 
in the crowns; the canines are moderately enlarged; the 
upper premolars and molars consist of an external wall, 
with an anterior and posterior lobe, the lower premolars 
and molars are typically like those of toxodonts. Two 
species have been distinguished, a larger, A. osborni, and 
a smaller, A. scotti. Our collection contains seven speci- 
mens, all of which should apparently be assigned to A. 
osbornt. 
