''Djadochtatherium'' 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 ...

that lived in

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

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 ...

. It coexisted with some of the late

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. This animal was a member of the

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

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 Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized ...

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 member of the family

Djadochtatheriidae Djadochtatheriidae is a family of fossil mammals within the extinct order Multituberculata. Remains are known from the Upper Cretaceous of Central Asia. These animals lived during the Mesozoic, also known as the "age of the dinosaurs". This famil ...

. It was named by G. G. Simpson in 1925, the name meaning "Djadokhta beast". The species ''Djadochtatherium matthewi'' was also named by G. G. Simpson in 1925 and has also been known as ''Catopsalis matthewi'' (Simpson, 1925). It has been found in the Campanian (Upper Cretaceous)-age Djadokhta and Goyot Formations of Mongolia. This was a relatively large Multituberculate, with a skull length of about 4.5 cm. It was originally diagnosed as a species within the North American genus of '' Catopsalis''.

References

* Kielan-Jaworowska Z. and Hurum J. H. (2001), Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals. ''Paleontology'' 44, p. 389–429. * Simpson (1925), ''A Mesozoic mammal skull from Mongolia''. ''American Museum Novitates'' 201, p. 1–11. * Much of this information has been derived fro

Mesozoic Mammals; Djadochtatherioidea, an Internet directory. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5285192 Cretaceous mammals Cimolodonta Fossils of Mongolia Prehistoric mammal genera