Ptilodontoidea

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iPtilodontoidea
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Multituberculata
Superfamily: Ptilodontoidea
Families

Ptilodontoidea is a group of extinct mammals from the Northern Hemisphere. They were generally small, somewhat rodent-like creatures of the extinct order Multituberculata.

Some of these genera boast a great many species, though remains are generally sparse. Ptilodus is among the best known, and there's a tendency to depict it as an analog of a squirrel.

Upper Cretaceous remains are known from North America and Europe. Later representatives (Paleocene - Eocene) hail from North America, Europe and Asia. These were some of the last multituberculates, and they are within the suborder Cimolodonta.

The superfamily is further divided into the following families:

The affinities of Neoliotomus are less clear, though it seems to fit somewhere within the superfamily.

[edit] References

  • Kielan-Jaworowska Z & Hurum JH (2001), "Phylogeny and Systematics of multituberculate mammals." Paleontology 44, p.389-429.
  • Much of this information has been derived from [1] MESOZOIC MAMMALS; Ptilodontoidea, an Internet directory.
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