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Epoicotheriidae
Epoicotheriidae ("strange beasts") is an extinct family of insectivorous mammals which were endemic to North America from the early Eocene to the early Oligocene 55.8—30.9 Ma existing for approximately . Epoicotheriids were highly specialized animals that were convergent with the golden moles Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing mammals endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. They comprise the family Chrysochloridae and as such they are taxonomically distinct from the true moles, family Talpidae, and other mole-like families, a ... of Africa in the structure of their skulls and forelimbs, and would have had a similar lifestyle as subterranean burrowers.Kenneth D. Rose, Robert J. Emry (1983"Extraordinary fossorial adaptations in the oligocene palaeanodonts ''Epoicotherium'' and ''Xenocranium'' (Mammalia)"Journal of Morphology 175(1):33 - 56 Classification and phylogeny Taxonomy Epoicotheriidae was named by Simpson in 1927. It was assigned to the Palaeanodonta by Ros ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaeanodonta
Palaeanodonta ("ancient toothless animals") is an extinct clade of stem- pangolins. They were insectivorous, possibly fossorial, and lived from the Early Paleocene to Early Oligocene in North America, Europe and East Asia. While the taxonomic grouping of Palaeanodonta has been debated,Averianov, A. O. & Lopatin, A. V. (2014."High-level systematics of placental mammals: Current status of the problem."Biology Bulletin, 41(9), 801–816. it is widely thought that they are a sister group to pangolins. Anatomy Skull Palaeanodonts generally have low and caudally-broad skulls, with notable lambdoid crests and inflated bullae and squamosals. Teeth Despite the name of the group and contrary to their pangolin relatives, palaeanodonts are known to have had teeth. Early palaeanodonts retained minimal tribosphenic post-canines while later species had peglike or otherwise reduced molar crowns. Many also had large, characteristic cuspids. Classification and phylogeny Traditi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pholidotamorpha
Pholidotamorpha ("pangolin-shaped") is a clade of mammals that includes the orders Palaeanodonta and Pholidota (the pangolins). In the past both orders were formerly classified with various other orders of ant-eating mammals, most notably Xenarthra, which includes the true anteaters, sloths, and the armadillos which pangolins superficially resemble. Newer genetic evidence, however, indicates their closest living relatives are the Carnivora with which they form the clade Ferae. Some palaeontologists, placing family Ernanodontidae in a separate suborder Ernanodonta of Cimolesta near Pholidota, have classified the pangolins in the order Cimolesta, together with several extinct groups indicated (†) below, though this idea has fallen out of favor since it was determined that cimolestids were not placental mammals. A 2012 study from new remains found in Late Paleocene Mongolian strata have led to the assessment that ''Ernanodon'' is closely related to ''Metacheiromys'' within the orde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xenocranium
''Xenocranium'' ("strange skull") is a monotypic genus of extinct epoicotheriid mammal whose fossils were recovered from late Eocene of the American state of Wyoming. The single species is ''Xenocranium pileorivale''. Etymology The name ''Xenocranium'' comes from the Ancient Greek words ''xenos'' and ''cranios'', meaning "strange" and "skull" respectively, after its unique skull arrangement. The specific epithet is derived from ''pileus'' meaning "hat" and ''rivale'' meaning "brook", in reference to the nearby township of Hat Creek, Wyoming, U.S.A. Description ''Xenocranium pileorivale'' possesses many traits indicative of a subterranean lifestyle, including small eyes, an upturned snout, muscular arms with large attachment points for the triceps, teres major, and carpal and digital flexor muscles. The dental formula is . Palaeoecology The holotype of ''Xenocranium pileorivale'' was recovered from the Brule Formation, 160 feet below the top of the Oligocene outcrop in the a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metacheiromys DB152-2
''Metacheiromys'' ("next to ''Cheiromys''") is an extinct genus of palaeanodont mammal from the paraphyletic subfamily Metacheiromyinae within paraphyletic family Metacheiromyidae, that lived in North America (what is now Wyoming) during the early to middle Eocene. ''Metacheiromys'' was a small creature, and measured around long. It had long claws and a narrow head similar in shape to that of an armadillo or an anteater (though it was actually related to the modern pangolins). The shape of its claws suggests that it probably dug through the soil in search of food, most likely small invertebrates. Unlike modern anteaters or pangolins, it had powerful canine teeth, but only a very few cheek teeth, instead using horny pads in its mouth to crush its food. The generic name means "next to ''Cheiromys''" because the scientist who saw the bones mistakenly thought that the animal was a primate with hands like those of the aye-aye (''Daubentonia madagascariensis''), one synonym being ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metacheiromys
''Metacheiromys'' ("next to ''Cheiromys''") is an extinct genus of palaeanodont mammal from the paraphyletic subfamily Metacheiromyinae within paraphyletic family Metacheiromyidae, that lived in North America (what is now Wyoming) during the early to middle Eocene. ''Metacheiromys'' was a small creature, and measured around long. It had long claws and a narrow head similar in shape to that of an armadillo or an anteater (though it was actually related to the modern pangolins). The shape of its claws suggests that it probably dug through the soil in search of food, most likely small invertebrates. Unlike modern anteaters or pangolins, it had powerful canine teeth, but only a very few cheek teeth, instead using horny pads in its mouth to crush its food. The generic name means "next to ''Cheiromys''" because the scientist who saw the bones mistakenly thought that the animal was a primate with hands like those of the aye-aye (''Daubentonia madagascariensis''), one synonym be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernanodontidae
Ernanodontidae ("sprouts of toothless animals") is an extinct family of insectivorous stem-pangolins which were endemic to Asia from the middle Paleocene to the early Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ..., 62.22—55.8 Ma existing for approximately . Classification and phylogeny Classification * Family: †Ernanodontidae (Ting, 1979)Malcolm C. McKenna, Susan K. Bell: ''Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level'' in Columbia University Press, New York (1997), 631 Seiten. ** Genus: †'' Asiabradypus'' (Nessov, 1987) *** †''Asiabradypus incompositus'' (Nessov, 1987)L. A. Nessov. (1987). ''"Rezultaty poiskov i issledovaniya Melovykh i Rannepaleogenovykh mlekopitayushikh na territorii SSSR esults of searches and investigations of Cretaceous and early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escavadodon
''Escavadodon'' ("tooth from Escavada") is an extinct genus of pangolin-like insectivorous mammal which was endemic to North America during the Early Paleocene ( Torrejonian in the NALMA classification), from approximately 63.8 to 60.9 Ma, existing for approximately . It contains a single species, ''Escavadodon zygus''. Taxonomy The monotypic family Escavadodontidae was erected by Rose and Lucas in 2000 to hold the type species, recovered from the Nacimiento Formation of New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke .... Phylogenetic tree The phylogenetic relationships of genus ''Escavadodon'' is shown in the following cladogram: References Palaeanodonta Paleocene mammals of North America Torrejonian Fossils of the United States Paleontology in N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope Carbon-13, 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope Carbon-12, 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Popigai impact structure, Siberia and in what is now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Moles
Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing mammals endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. They comprise the family Chrysochloridae and as such they are taxonomically distinct from the true moles, family Talpidae, and other mole-like families, all of which, to various degrees, they resemble as a result of evolutionary convergence. There are 21 species. Some (e.g., ''Chrysochloris asiatica'', ''Amblysomus hottentotus'') are relatively common, whereas others (e.g., species of ''Chrysospalax'', ''Cryptochloris'', ''Neamblysomus'') are rare and endangered. Characteristics and affinities Like most burrowing mammals with similar habits, the Chrysochloridae have short legs with powerful digging claws, very dense fur that repels dirt and moisture, and toughened skin, particularly on the head. Their eyes are non-functional and covered with furred skin. The external ears are just tiny openings. In particular, golden moles bear a remarkable resemblance to the marsupial moles of Australia, fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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