Zofiabaatar
Encyclopedia
Zofiabaatar is a genus
of extinct mammal
from the Upper Jurassic
period. It was a relatively early member of the extinct order
Multituberculata
within the suborder "Plagiaulacida
". It lived in North America
along with dinosaur
s such as Diplodocus
and Allosaurus
.
The primary species is named Zofiabaatar pulcher. Fossil
s have been found in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation
of Wyoming
(U.S.
). The animal was reportedly about 30 cm long. It seems to have been a rather specialized creature, judging by the dentary, which is all that's known. Zofiabaataridae are believed to belong to the allodontid
line.
Present in stratigraphic zone 6.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of extinct mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
from the Upper Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
period. It was a relatively early member of the extinct order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
Multituberculata
Multituberculata
The Multituberculata were a group of rodent-like mammals that existed for approximately one hundred and twenty million years—the longest fossil history of any mammal lineage—but were eventually outcompeted by rodents, becoming extinct during the early Oligocene. At least 200 species are...
within the suborder "Plagiaulacida
Plagiaulacida
Plagiaulacida is a group of extinct multituberculate mammals. Multituberculates were among the most common mammals of the Mesozoic, "the age of the dinosaurs"...
". It lived in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
along with dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s such as Diplodocus
Diplodocus
Diplodocus , or )is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek "double" and "beam", in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones...
and Allosaurus
Allosaurus
Allosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
.
The primary species is named Zofiabaatar pulcher. Fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s have been found in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation
Morrison Formation
The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Late Jurassic sedimentary rock that is found in the western United States, which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone and limestone and is light grey, greenish...
of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
(U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
). The animal was reportedly about 30 cm long. It seems to have been a rather specialized creature, judging by the dentary, which is all that's known. Zofiabaataridae are believed to belong to the allodontid
Allodontidae
Allodontidae is a family of extinct mammal that lived in what is now North America during the Upper Jurassic period. Allodontids were members of the order Multituberculata. They were relatively early mammals and are within the informal suborder of "Plagiaulacida". The family was named by Othniel...
line.
Present in stratigraphic zone 6.