Nesodon was named by Owen (1846).
It was assigned to Toxodontidae by Carroll (1988).
It was an early member of the family Toxodontidae, which included the well-known Pleistocene genus Toxodon.
Like almost all toxodontids, Nesodon was endemic to South America.
In particular, fossils of Nesodon are known from late early Miocene (Santacrucian SALMA) deposits of Argentina and Chile.

Three species of Nesodon are recognized including a larger species, N. imbricatus, and a smaller species, N. conspurcatus.
A poorly known and possibly invalid third species, N. cornutus, was similar to N. imbricatus but may have had a small horn on its head.
All species of Nesodon were larger than species of the contemporary toxodontid Adinotherium.

The dentition of Nesodon shows features typical of living grazing (grass-eating) mammals, but a study of wear on the enamel of N. imbricatus suggests that it was a browser (leaf eater) that may have supplemented its diet with fruit or bark.
Nesodon was named by Owen (1846). It was assigned to Toxodontidae by Carroll (1988). It was an early member of the family Toxodontidae, which included the well-known Pleistocene genus Toxodon. Like almost all toxodontids, Nesodon was endemic to South America. In particular, fossils of Nesodon are known from late early Miocene (Santacrucian SALMA) deposits of Argentina and Chile.
Three species of Nesodon are recognized including a larger species, N. imbricatus, and a smaller species, N. conspurcatus. A poorly known and possibly invalid third species, N. cornutus, was similar to N. imbricatus but may have had a small horn on its head. All species of Nesodon were larger than species of the contemporary toxodontid Adinotherium.
The dentition of Nesodon shows features typical of living grazing (grass-eating) mammals, but a study of wear on the enamel of N. imbricatus suggests that it was a browser (leaf eater) that may have supplemented its diet with fruit or bark.
Nesodon