Ptolemaiida is a taxon of
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
-sized
afrothere
Afrotheria ( from Latin ''Afro-'' "of Africa" + ''theria'' "wild beast") is a clade of mammals, the living members of which belong to groups that are either currently living in Africa or of African origin: golden moles, elephant shrews (also know ...
mammals that lived in northern and eastern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
during the
Paleogene. The oldest fossils are from the latest
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'', " ...
strata of the
Jebel Qatrani Formation
The Jebel Qatrani Formation (also Gebel Qatrani) is a palaeontological and geologic formation located in the Faiyum Governorate of central Egypt.
Conformably overlying the Qasr el Sagha Formation. It is exposed namely between the Jebel Qatrani ...
, near the
Fayum
Faiyum ( ar, الفيوم ' , borrowed from cop, ̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ or Ⲫⲓⲱⲙ ' from egy, pꜣ ym "the Sea, Lake") is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum ...
oasis in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
.
A tooth is known from an Oligocene-aged stratum in Angola, and Miocene specimens (of ''
Kelba'') are known from Kenya and Uganda
The origin of the Ptolemaiida is obscure, and debated. The type species was originally thought to be a primate, but, later, when elongated skulls with long
canines
Canine may refer to:
Zoology and anatomy
* a dog-like Canid animal in the subfamily Caninae
** ''Canis'', a genus including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals
** Dog, the domestic dog
* Canine tooth, in mammalian oral anatomy
People with the surn ...
of ''Ptolemaia'' and ''
Qarunavus'' were found, they were then thought to be
hyaenodontids, or giant, carnivorous relatives of the
pantolestids ''
Palaeosinopa'', and of
modern shrews The family Ptolemaiidae was elevated to order level in 1995,
[ although some experts later placed the Ptolemaiidae within the pantolestids.]
Recently, Ptolemaiida has been placed within Afrotheria
Afrotheria ( from Latin ''Afro-'' "of Africa" + ''theria'' "wild beast") is a clade of mammals, the living members of which belong to groups that are either currently living in Africa or of African origin: golden moles, elephant shrews (also k ...
on the basis of paleobiology
Paleobiology (or palaeobiology) is an interdisciplinary field that combines the methods and findings found in both the earth sciences and the life sciences. Paleobiology is not to be confused with geobiology, which focuses more on the interactio ...
, as the taxon was endemic to Africa, and because of some similarities in the anatomical features of the skull in common with aardvark
The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlik ...
s. It is currently unclear if they form a sister taxon to Tubulidentata
Orycteropodidae is a family of afrotherian mammals. Although there are many fossil species, the only species surviving today is the aardvark, ''Orycteropus afer''. Orycteropodidae is recognized as the only family within the order Tubulidentata ...
or are a paraphyletic sequence leading to them. Regardless, their close relation may offer the possibility for true dental synapomorphies in Afroinsectiphilia
The Afroinsectiphilia (African insectivores) is a clade that has been proposed based on the results of recent molecular phylogenetic studies. Many of the taxa within it were once regarded as part of the order Insectivora, but Insectivora is now ...
.
As mentioned earlier, there has been much confusion about the origins and even identities of the ptolemaiidans. The first specimen, a set of isolated molar teeth, of the type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...
, '' Ptolemaia lyonsi'', was originally identified as being a primate, as they were flat and nearly identical to those of primates. Later, when the first skull was found, it was then thought to be a monstrous, wolf-sized shrew, as the skull had long canine fangs, and was very gracile. However, recently, there has been a reconsideration of the ptolemaiidan diet, and possible behavior, as wear on the teeth suggest that it crushed hard or abrasive food, and that the teeth had little or no shearing ability. Even so, some sources still refer to them as being gigantic, carnivorous shrews.
References
Prehistoric animal orders
Mammal orders
Eocene mammals
Oligocene mammals
Miocene mammals of Africa
Miocene extinctions
Fossil taxa described in 1995
{{Paleo-afrotheria-stub