Polydolopimorphia is an extinct order of

metatheria Metatheria is a mammalian clade that includes all mammals more closely related to marsupials than to placentals. First proposed by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1880, it is a more inclusive group than the marsupials; it contains all marsupials as well ...

ns, more closely related to extant

marsupials Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

than other extinct mammals. Known from the

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and the

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' ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

, they were a diverse group during the Paleogene, filling many niches, before declining and becoming extinct at the end of the

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

. It is divided into two suborders, Bonapartheriiformes, and Polydolopiformes The morphology of the teeth suggests that polydolopimorphians may be crown group marsupials, nested within Australidelphia. The group contained

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...

frugivorous A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance and ...

and

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

forms.

Taxonomy

Taxonomical subdivision of the Polydolopimorphia:Polydolopimorphia
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...

.org * Suborder Bonapartheriiformes ** Family Bonapartheriidae *** Genus '' Bonapartherium'' *** Genus '' Epidolops'' ** Family Argyrolagidae *** Genus '' Anargyrolagus'' *** Genus '' Argyrolagus'' *** Genus ''

Hondalagus ''Hondalagus'' is an extinct genus of marsupial mammals that lived during the Middle Miocene epoch (Laventan The Laventan ( es, Laventense) age is a period of geologic time (13.8 to 11.8 Ma) within the Middle Miocene epoch of the Neogene, u ...

'' *** Genus '' Klohnia'' *** Genus '' Microtragulus'' *** Genus '' Proargyrolagus'' ** Subfamily Chulpasiinae *** Genus ''

Chulpasia ''Chulpasia'' is an extinct genus of Eocene marsupial related to today's shrew opossums. It was a small animal, about long, with an omnivorous diet. Its diet probably included seeds, small fruits, and insects. Fossils were found in the Muñani ...

'' *** Genus '' Thylacotinga'' ** Family Prepidolopidae *** Genus '' Incadolops'' *** Genus '' Perrodelphys'' *** Genus '' Punadolops'' ** Family Rosendolopidae *** Genus '' Hondonadia'' *** Genus '' Rosendolops'' * Suborder Polydolopiformes ** Family Polydolopidae Along with: * Enrico de Lazaro
Three New Species of Extinct Marsupials Identified, sci-news, Jan 26, 2021 *** Genus ''Amphidolops
'' *** Genus ''Antarctodolops'' *** Genus ''Archaeodolops'' *** Genus ''Hypodolops'' *** Genus ''Kramadolops'' *** Genus ''Pliodolops'' *** Genus ''Polydolops'' *** Genus ''Pseudolops'' ** Family Sillustaniidae *** Genus '' Sillustania'' *** Genus '' Roberthoffstetteria'' *''incertae sedis'' ** Genus '' Prepidolops'' ** Genus '' Wamradolops'' ** Genus '' Bobbschaefferia''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3805917 Metatheria Danian first appearances Piacenzian extinctions