''Barbatodon'' is a

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

from the Upper

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

period. It lived in

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

at the same time as some of the last

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

s and was a member of the extinct order of

Multituberculata Multituberculata (commonly known as multituberculates, named for the multiple tubercles of their teeth) is an extinct Order (biology), order of rodent-like mammals with a fossil record spanning over 130 million years. They first appeared in the M ...

. It is within the suborder of

Cimolodonta Cimolodonta is a clade of Multituberculata, multituberculate mammals that lived from the Cretaceous to the Eocene. They probably lived something of a rodent-like existence until their ecological niche was assumed by true rodents. The more basal ...

, and the family

Kogaionidae Kogaionidae is a family of fossil mammals within the Extinction, extinct order Multituberculata. Representatives are known from the Upper Cretaceous and the Paleocene of Europe. Having started as island endemics on Hațeg Island during the Upper ...

. The genus ''Barbatodon'' was named by Constantin Rădulescu and Petre Mihai Samson in 1986. The primary species, ''Barbatodon transylvanicum'', was also named by Rãdulescu and Samson. It was found in

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...

dating to the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of the Sânpetru Formation in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. "Based on comparisons with the m1s from Vălioara, the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

of ''Barbatodon'' is regarded as a kogaionid m1," Kielan-Jaworowska and Hurum (2001) had it placed tentatively in the informal Paracimexomys'' group'. A new species, ''B. oardaensis'', has been announced in 2014. The species has been discovered in Oarda de Jos, Hațeg Basin, Transylvania. It is characterized by M1 cusp formula 3:4:2 and is much smaller than the two other known species. Most of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

was covered by shallow seas during the Upper Cretaceous, which makes remains of terrestrial animals extremely rare. This location is one of the exceptions and the diversity of material is impressive.

Biology

Like modern

rodents Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

and shrews, as well as the related taeniolabidoid multituberculates, ''Barbatodon'' displays red iron-pigmentation in its teeth. This distribution is more similar to that seen in shrews than in rodents or taeniolabidoids, suggesting insectivorous habits. In the absence of competing mammals, ''Barbatodon'' and similar kogaionids display a clear example of island speciation.

References

Bibliography

* Constantin Rădulescu and Petre Mihai Samson(1986), ''Précisions sur les affinités des Multituberculés du Crétacé supérieur de Roumaine''. C R Acad Sci II: Mec-Phys, Chim, Sci Terre, Sci Univ 303p, p. 1825-1830. * * Much of this information has been derived fro

Mesozoic Mammals: "basal"

, Cimolomyidae, Boffiidae and

, an Internet directory. {{Taxonbar, from=Q4859509 Cimolodonta Cretaceous mammals of Europe Cretaceous Romania Maastrichtian life Fossils of Romania Hațeg fauna Fossil taxa described in 2014 Prehistoric mammal genera