Paulchoffatia is a genus of extinct mammal

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 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...

 - Lower Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

. It was a relatively early member of the also extinct order 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...

, within 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"...

" and 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...

. It lived in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 during 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."

The genus Paulchoffatia ("for Paul Choffat") was named by Kühne W.B. in 1961 based on a single species. It is also known as Paulchoffia. Paulchoffatia is characterized by a massive Corpus mandibulae (the part of the jaw below the tooth row), a rounded lower margin of the jaw and a massive, only slightly curved and steeply inclined incisor with a short root", (Hahn & Hahn 2000, p.105). The name honours the geologist Léon Paul Choffat (1849-1919).

Remains of the species Paulchoffatia delgadoi were found in the Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic)-age strata

Stratum

In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...

 of Guimarota

Guimarota

Guimarota is a disused coal mine that contains a diverse array of fossil animals and plants from the Upper Jurassic, Kimmeridgian period. It is located in central Portugal, near the city of Leiria....

, 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 skull probably had a length of 2.5 cm. This taxon is based on five lower jaw fossils. Further material of this genus, though very possibly not this species, has been reported from the Lower Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

 location of Galve

Galve, Teruel

Galve is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 145 inhabitants. There is an important paleontological site.-Paleontological significance:...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.