''Kogaionon'' is a

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 ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

from the Upper

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 ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It lived in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

the same time as some of the last non-avian

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 and was a member of the

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

order of Multituberculata. It was named after

Kogaionon :''See Kogaionon ungureanui for the mammal from the Upper Cretaceous.'' Kogaionon was the holy mountain of the Geto-Dacians, the place where Zalmoxis stayed in a cave for three years. After his disappearance into Kogaionon, he was considered dead ...

, the holy mountain of the ancient

Dacians The Dacians (; la, Daci ; grc-gre, Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often consid ...

. It lies within the

suborder Order ( la, ordo) 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 ...

Cimolodonta and the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Kogaionidae. The genus ''Kogaionon'' was named by Rădulescu R. and Samson P. in 1996. This genus is known from one species, ''Kogaionon ungureanui'', the

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

remains of which have been found in the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) Sinpetru Beds of the Hateg Formation in Romania. It is a micro-mammal, based on a well-preserved and near complete skull. The species name is in appreciation of the geologist Costin Ungureanu, who found the fossil.

References

* Rădulescu & Samson (1996), "The first multituberculate skull from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Europe ( Haţeg Basin, Romania)". ''Anuarul Institutului de Geologie al României'', Supplement 1, 69, p. 177-178. * Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Hurum JH (2001), "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals". ''Paleontology'' 44, p. 389-429. * Much of this information has been derived fro

MESOZOIC MAMMALS; "basal" Cimolodonta, Cimolomyidae, Boffiidae and Kogaionidae, an Internet directory. Cimolodonts Cretaceous mammals Extinct mammals of Europe Hațeg fauna {{cretaceous-mammal-stub