''Cedaromys'' ("Cedar mouse") is an extinct

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 ...

which lived during 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 ...

, at the same time as many

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. It was a member of the also 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's 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 a possible member of the Paracimexomys group.

Species

The species ''Cedaromys bestia'' was originally named '' Paracimexomys bestia'' in 1991,J. G. Eaton and M. E. Nelson. 1991. Multituberculate mammals from the Lower Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation, San Rafael Swell, Utah. Contributions to Geology, University of Wyoming 29(1):1-12 but later reassigned to ''Cedaromys'' by Eaton and Cifelli in 2001. Fossils have been found in Albian (late) - Cenomanian (early), (both Upper Cretaceous)-aged

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 ...

of the Cedar Mountain Formation in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

(United States). Fossils of the species ''Cedaromys parvus'' (Eaton & Cifelli, 2001) have been found in strata of the same age in the Cedar Mountain Formation. This species is also in the Oklahoma collection. Suggested bodyweight is around 90 g.

References

* Eaton & Cifelli (2001), "Multituberculate mammals from near the Early-Late Cretaceous boundary, Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah". ''Acta Palaeontologica Polonica'' 46(4), p. 453-518. * Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Hurum JH (2001), "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals". ''Paleontology'' 44, p. 389-429. * Eaton, J.G. (2009). Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) mammals from Cedar Canyon, southwestern Utah, and a revision of Cenomanian Alphadon-like marsupials; pp. 97–110 in Albright, L.B.I. (ed.), Papers on Geology, Vertebrate Paleontology, and Biostratigraphy in Honor of Michael O. Woodburne. Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 65. Late Cretaceous mammals of North America Cimolodonta Extinct mammals of North America Prehistoric mammal genera {{cretaceous-mammal-stub