Palaeoryctidae
| Palaeoryctids Temporal range: Late Cretaceous–Paleocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Cimolesta |
| Family: | †Palaeoryctidae Winge, 1917 |
| Genera | |
| |
Palaeoryctidae ("old/stony digger", from Greek: ὀρύκτης, oryctes) is an extinct group of relatively non-specialized non-placental eutherian mammals that strived in North America during the late Cretaceous and took part in the first placental evolutionary radiation together with other early mammals such as the leptictids. [2]
Description
From a near-complete skull of the genus Palaeoryctes found in New Mexico, it is known that palaeoryctids were small, shrew-like insectivores with an elongated snout similar to that of the Lepticids. However, in contrast to the latter, little is known about palaeoryctids postcranial anatomy (the skeleton without the skull). [2]
Where the leptictids were short-lived, the paleoryctids seem to have been ancestors of Eocene species. While their dental morphology still indicate a mostly insectivorous diet, it, to some extent, also relate to Eocene carnivores such as creodonts. [2]
Taxonomy
The relationship between this archaic group and other insectivorous mammals is uncertain. [3] Palaeoryctidae was originally assigned to the now-abandoned grouping Insectivora by Sloan and Van Valen (1965) and more recently to Eutheria by Scott et al. (2002). Sister groups include: Kennalestidae, Nanocuridae, Pantolestidae, and Zalambdalestidae. [1]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Palaeoryctidae". The Paleobiology Database. Retrieved January 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Augustí 2002, p. 5
- ↑ Gingerich 1982, p. 38
References
- Agustí, Jordi; Antón, Mauricio (2002). Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11640-3.
- Gingerich, Philip D (December 1982). "Aaptoryctes (Palaeoryctidae) and Thelysia (Palaeoryctidae?); New Insectivorous Mammals from the Late Paleocene and Early Eocene of Western North America" (PDF). Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology (University of Michigan) 26 (3): 37–47.
External links
- "Family: Palaeoryctidae: Occurrence overview". GDIF. Retrieved January 2010.
- "†Palaeoryctidae". Mikko's Phylogeny Archive. Retrieved January 2010.