''Gerhardodon'' is an extinct genus of

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

from the Lower

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

of southern England. It was a member of the also extinct order of Multituberculata, and lived with such

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

s as '' Iguanodon''. It lies within the suborder " Plagiaulacida" and family

Pinheirodontidae Pinheirodontidae is a poorly known family of fossil mammals which belong to the informal suborder "Plagiaulacida" within the order Multituberculata. Remains are known from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of Europe, (predominantly Portugal ...

. The genus ''Gerhardodon'' ("Gerhard’s tooth") was named by Kielan-Jaworowska Z. and Ensom P.C. in 1992 based on a single species, ''Gerhardodon purbeckensis''. It is known from the Berriasian (Lower Cretaceous)

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

of Durlston Bay in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, England. It is a multituberculate mammal from the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset. This formation is sometimes considered to be partly Upper

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

References

* Kielan-Jaworowska & Ensom (1992), Multituberculate Mammals from the Upper Jurassic Purbeck Limestone Formation of southern England. Paleontology, 35, p. 95-126. * Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Hurum JH (2001), "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals". ''Paleontology'' 44, p. 389-429.
MESOZOIC MAMMALS
Multituberculates Early Cretaceous mammals of Europe Prehistoric mammal genera Fossil taxa described in 1992 {{cretaceous-mammal-stub