Kielanodon
Encyclopedia
Kielanodon is an extinct mammal
of the Portuguese
Upper Jurassic
. It was a relatively early member of the also extinct order
of Multituberculata
. It eked out a living during the Mesozoic
era, also known as the "Age of the Dinosaur
s." It is in the suborder Plagiaulacida
, family Paulchoffatiidae
.
The genus Kielanodon, meaning "Kielan’s tooth" after Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, was named by Hahn G. in 1987. The main species, Kielanodon hopsoni, also named by Hahn, is known from fossils found in the Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic)-age strata of Guimarota, Portugal
. The identification is based on three upper jaws.
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
of the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Upper Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
. It was a relatively early member of the also extinct order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
of Multituberculata
Multituberculata
The Multituberculata were a group of rodent-like mammals that existed for approximately one hundred and twenty million years—the longest fossil history of any mammal lineage—but were eventually outcompeted by rodents, becoming extinct during the early Oligocene. At least 200 species are...
. It eked out a living during the Mesozoic
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
era, also known as the "Age of the Dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s." It is in the suborder Plagiaulacida
Plagiaulacida
Plagiaulacida is a group of extinct multituberculate mammals. Multituberculates were among the most common mammals of the Mesozoic, "the age of the dinosaurs"...
, family Paulchoffatiidae
Paulchoffatiidae
Paulchoffatiidae is a family of extinct mammals that lived predominantly during the Upper Jurassic period, though a couple of genera are known from the earliest Cretaceous. Some undescribed fossils from the Middle Jurassic of England may represent earlier versions. Remains have been reported from...
.
The genus Kielanodon, meaning "Kielan’s tooth" after Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, was named by Hahn G. in 1987. The main species, Kielanodon hopsoni, also named by Hahn, is known from fossils found in the Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic)-age strata of Guimarota, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. The identification is based on three upper jaws.