Crusafontia
Crusafontia
Extinct family of mammals
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 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]