Dinomyidae

Dinomyidae Temporal range: Early Miocene–Recent PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Josephoartigasia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Superfamily:	Chinchilloidea
Family:	Dinomyidae Peters, 1873
Genera
see text

The Dinomyidae were once a very speciose group of South American hystricognath rodents, but now contains only a single living species, the pacarana. The Dinomyidae family included among its ranks the largest rodents known to date, the bison-sized Josephoartigasia monesi^[1] and the smaller Josephoartigasia magna.^[2] The dinomyids are thoght to have occupied ecological niches associated with large grazing mammals due to the lack of true ungulates in South America until its later connection to North America. The modern pacarana is only modest in size, considerably smaller than the capybara.

The Neoepiblemidae, an entirely extinct family, may actually be part of the Dinomyidae; they are certainly closely related.

Genera

• Family Dinomyidae
  • †Pseudodiodomus incertae sedis
  • †Agnomys incertae sedis
  • Subfamily Eumegamyinae
    • †Doellomys
    • †Gyriabrus
    • †Briaromys
    • †Tetrastylus
    • †Phoberomys
    • †Colpostemma
    • †Orthomys
    • †Eumegamys
    • †Pseudosigmomys
    • †Pentastylodon
    • †Eumegamysops
    • †Telicomys
    • †Perumys
    • †Josephoartigasia^[3]
  • Subfamily Potamarchinae
    • †Scleromys
    • †Olenopsis
    • †Simplimus
    • †Eusigmomys
    • †Potamarchus
  • Subfamily Dinomyinae
    • Dinomys - pacarana
    • †Telodontomys

References

• McKenna, Malcolm C., and Bell, Susan K. (1997). Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 631 pp. ISBN 0-231-11013-8.