Ptilodontoidea
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 Skull of Ptilodus
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Fossil
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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:
- Neoplagiaulacidae - 10 genera;
- Ptilodontidae - 4 genera;
- Cimolodontidae - possibly 3 genera.
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.
