''Boffius'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of
mammal from the
Paleocene
The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...
of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
, which was named by
Vianey-Liaud M. in 1979. It is 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 of rodent-like mammals with a fossil record spanning over 130 million years. They first appeared in the Middle Jurassic, ...
.
Boffius lies within the suborder
Cimolodonta
Cimolodonta is a taxon of extinct mammals that lived from the Cretaceous to the Eocene. They were some of the more derived members of the extinct order Multituberculata. They probably lived something of a rodent-like existence until their eco ...
and is the only known member of the family Boffiidae (Hahn & Hahn, 1983). The species ''Boffius splendidus'' is known from the Lower Paleocene
Hainin Formation found in Hainaut,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
. It was a relatively large multituberculate.
References
Further reading
* Vianey-Liaud (1979), "Les Mammifères montiens de Hainin (Paléocene moyen de Belgique). Part I, Multituberculés". ''Palaeovertebrata'' 9, p. 117-131.
* Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Hurum JH (2001), "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals". ''Paleontology'' 44, p. 389-429.
* Much of this information has been derived fro
MESOZOIC MAMMALS; 'basal'
Cimolodonta
Cimolodonta is a taxon of extinct mammals that lived from the Cretaceous to the Eocene. They were some of the more derived members of the extinct order Multituberculata. They probably lived something of a rodent-like existence until their eco ...
,
Cimolomyidae
Cimolomyidae is a family of fossil mammal within the extinct order Multituberculata. Representatives are known from the Upper Cretaceous and the Paleocene of North America and perhaps Mongolia. The family is part of the suborder Cimolodonta. O ...
, Boffiidae and
Kogaionidae
Kogaionidae is a family of fossil mammals within the extinct order Multituberculata. Representatives are known from the Upper Cretaceous and the Paleocene of Europe. Having started as island endemics on Hateg Island during the Upper Cretaceous, ...
, an Internet directory.
* E. De Bast, B. Sigé, and T. Smith. 2012. Diversity of the adapisoriculid mammals from the early Palaeocene of Hainin, Belgium. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 57(1):35-52
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4937282
Cimolodonts
Danian genera
Paleocene mammals of Europe
Paleogene Belgium
Fossils of Belgium
Fossil taxa described in 1979
Prehistoric mammal genera