Paulchoffatiidae

Last updated

Paulchoffatiidae
Temporal range: Kimmeridgian–Barremian
Paulchoffatia skull.jpg
Drawing of the skull of Paulchoffatia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order:† Multituberculata
Suborder:† Plagiaulacida
Family:† Paulchoffatiidae
Hahn, 1969
Genera

Paulchoffatiidae is a family of extinct mammals that lived predominantly during the Late Jurassic epoch, though a couple of genera are known from the Early Cretaceous. Fossils have been reported from Europe (Portugal, Spain, Germany, and England). Paulchoffatiids were members of the order Multituberculata. They were relatively early representatives and are within the informal suborder of "Plagiaulacida". The family was named by G. Hahn in 1969, and it honors the Portuguese geologist Léon Paul Choffat.

Contents

The most productive fossil site for Paulchoffatiids has been Guimarota, Portugal. Remains from this locality are generally diagnosed on the basis of lower or upper jaws. In only one instance, that of Kuehneodon , has it been possible to match the two up. Some of the lower jaws probably represent the same animals as some of the upper, so the diversity of Paulchoffatiids is very possibly exaggerated. As the site is now a flooded, disused coalmine, further excavations are highly unlikely. However, other locations may yet provide more clarity.

The Paulchoffatiids have been further arranged into two subfamilies and a couple of other genera.

Taxonomy

Two subfamilies of Paulchoffatiidae are recognised. [1] One is known as Paulchoffatiinae. [2] The other is known as Kuehneodontinae. [1] The subfamily Paulchoffatiinae includes Paulchoffatia , Bathmochoffatia , Guimarotodon , Henkelodon , Kielanodon , Meketibolodon , Meketichoffatia , Plesiochoffatia , Pseudobolodon , Galveodon , Sunnyodon , and Xenachoffatia . The subfamily Kuehneodontinae, meanwhile, is a taxon restricted to one genus, Kuehneodon , with seven species. Rugosodon from the Middle Jurassic of China, known from a mostly complete skeleton, was formerly referred to the family, [3] but was later considered an indeterminate member of the Paulchoffatiid-line. [1]

Subclass † Allotheria Marsh, 1880

Palaeobiology

Tooth occlusion in paulchoffatiids was inexact and imprecise compared to in other multituberculates, as indicated by dental microwear. Paulchoffatiid mastication occurred in two phases: a puncture-crushing cycle and a grinding cycle. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Martin, Thomas; O. Averianov, Alexander; A. Schultz, Julia; H. Schwermann, Achim; Wings, Oliver (7 August 2019). "Late Jurassic multituberculate mammals from Langenberg Quarry (Lower Saxony, Germany) and palaeobiogeography of European Jurassic multituberculates" . Historical Biology . 33 (5): 616–629. doi:10.1080/08912963.2019.1650274. ISSN   0891-2963. S2CID   201201555.
  2. ↑ Krause, David W.; Hahn, Gerhard (November 1990). "Systematic position of the Paulchoffatiinae (Multituberculata, Mammalia)" . Journal of Paleontology . 64 (6): 1051–1054. doi:10.1017/S0022336000019922. ISSN   0022-3360 . Retrieved 23 September 2025– via Cambridge Core.
  3. ↑ Yuan, Chong-Xi; Ji, Qiang; Meng, Qing-Jin; Tabrum, Alan R.; Luo, Zhe-Xi (16 August 2013). "Earliest Evolution of Multituberculate Mammals Revealed by a New Jurassic Fossil" . Science . 341 (6147): 779–783. doi:10.1126/science.1237970. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   23950536. S2CID   25885140 . Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  4. ↑ Lazzari, Vincent; Schultz, Julia A.; Tafforeau, Paul; Martin, Thomas (8 June 2010). "Occlusal Pattern in Paulchoffatiid Multituberculates and the Evolution of Cusp Morphology in Mammaliamorphs with Rodent-like Dentitions" . Journal of Mammalian Evolution . 17 (3): 177–192. doi:10.1007/s10914-010-9139-5. ISSN   1064-7554 . Retrieved 21 September 2025– via Springer Nature Link.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.