Crusafontia

Crusafontia is an extinct genus of mammal from the Cretaceous Camarillas, El Castellar and La Huérguina Formations of Spain.[1][2][3][4] The name of the animal was given in honour of the Spanish paleontologist Miquel Crusafont Pairó.

Crusafontia
Temporal range:
Holotype of C. amoae, now C. cuencana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Dryolestida
Family: †Dryolestidae
Genus: †Crusafontia
Henkel & Krebs, 1969
Type species
Crusafontia cuencana
Henkel & Krebs, 1969[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Crusafontia amoae Cuenca-Bescos et al., 2011

Crusafontia was a 10 cm (3.9 in) long creature that may have looked and lived like a squirrel, but this is uncertain, as only two teeth (an upper molar right P5) and a mandible have ever been found.[1][3][4] In one study on Mesozoic mammal mandibles, it plots with carnivorous rather than insectivorous or herbivorous species.[5]

In 2011 a second species of Crusafontia was named, C. amoae, based on two upper molar teeth from Galve.[2] However, this was synonymised with the original species in 2021.[6]

References
  1. Henkel, S. and Krebs, B., 1969. Zwei Säugetier-unterkiefer aus der unteren Kreide von uña (prov. Cuenca, Spanien). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, 1969, pp.449-463.
  2. Cuenca-Bescós, G., Badiola, A., Canudo, J.I., Gasca, J.M. and Moreno-Azanza, M., 2011. New Dryolestidan Mammal from the Hauterivian—Barremian Transition of the Iberian Peninsula. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 56(2), pp.257-267.
  3. Crusafontia cuencana in the Paleobiology Database
  4. Crusafontia amoae in the Paleobiology Database
  5. Morales-García, N. M.; Gill, P. G.; Janis, C. M.; Rayfield, E. J. (2021). "Jaw shape and mechanical advantage are indicative of diet in Mesozoic mammals". Communications Biology. 4 (1): 242. doi:10.1038/s42003-021-01757-3. PMC 7902851. PMID 33623117.
  6. Martin, T., Averianov, A.O., Schultz, J.A., Schwermann, A.H. and Wings, O., 2021. A derived dryolestid mammal indicates possible insular endemism in the Late Jurassic of Germany. The Science of Nature, 108(3), pp.1-12


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