Cimolestes Temporal range: Late Cretaceous to Early Paleocene |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | †Cimolesta |
Suborder: | †Didelphodonta |
Family: | †Cimolestidae |
Genus: | †Cimolestes Marsh, 1889 |
Cimolestes ("Bug Thief") is a genus of early eutherians. Fossils have been found in North America, where they first appeared during the Late Cretaceous, and died out during the Paleocene.[1]
They were once considered to be marsupials, but now are considered to be members of the order Cimolesta (which was named after the genus).
Pangolins and carnivorans (that is, the clade Ferae) are believed to be cimolestids' closest living relatives.