Cylindrodontidae

Cylindrodontidae
Temporal range:
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Placentalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: †Cylindrodontidae
Miller & Gidley, 1918
Genera

see text.

Cylindrodontidae is a family of extinct rodents from the Eocene to Oligocene of North America and Asia.[1] They were an early-diverging group of rodents with relatively short, broad skulls. As with other early rodents such as Ischyromyidae, the exact affinities of cylindrodontids are unclear. The oldest cylindrodontid (Tuscahomys) is from the Wasatchian NALMA (early Eocene), while the youngest members of the family are from the Whitneyan (mid-Oligocene).[2]

Postcranial fossils have only been described for Pareumys, which appears to have a generalized lifestyle without any strong adaptations for burrowing or climbing. Conversely, cylindrodontid skulls are similar to burrowing rodents. Over the course of their evolution, cylindrodontids show a general trend of increasing size (from mouse-sized to ground squirrel-sized), more robust build, broader and more curved incisors, and more hypsodont cheek teeth.[3][1]

In North America, cylindrodontid distribution is closely correlated with fossils of certain broad-leafed trees, particularly members of the fig family (Moraceae), legumes (Fabaceae), elms (Ulmaceae), and Platycarya. This may indicate a preference for nutritious, easily-acquired fruits and nuts, in contrast to later rodents such as squirrels, which are better-adapted for processing pine cones.[4]

List of genera

References

  1. 1 2 Walsh, Stephen L.; Storer, John E. (2008-06-12), "Cylindrodontidae", in Janis, Christine M.; Gunnell, Gregg F.; Uhen, Mark D. (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America (1 ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 336–354, doi:10.1017/cbo9780511541438.021, ISBN 978-0-521-78117-6, retrieved 2026-08-01
  2. 1 2 Korth, William W.; Tabrum, Alan R. (2017). "A Unique Rodent Fauna from the Whitneyan (Middle Oligocene) of Southwestern Montana". Annals of Carnegie Museum. 84 (4): 319–340. Bibcode:2017AnCM...84..319K. doi:10.2992/007.084.0401. ISSN 0097-4463.
  3. ↑ Korth, William W. (1994), "Cylindrodontidae", The Tertiary Record of Rodents in North America, Topics in Geobiology, vol. 12, Boston, MA: Springer US, pp. 67–76, doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-1444-6_7, ISBN 978-1-4899-1446-0, retrieved 2026-08-01
  4. ↑ Burger, Benjamin John (2026). "Comparative spatial paleoecology: assessing niche competition between Eocene North American multituberculates and rodents regarding forest resources to elucidate the cause of multituberculate extinction". Paleobiology. 52 (1): 30–45. Bibcode:2026Pbio...52...30B. doi:10.1017/pab.2025.10048. ISSN 0094-8373.
  5. 1 2 Li, Qian; Wang, Yuan Q.; Mao, Fang Y.; Meng, Jin (2019-09-03). "A new Eocene cylindrodontid rodent from the Erlian Basin (Nei Mongol, China) and its implications for phylogeny and biochronology". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 39 (5) e1680990. Bibcode:2019JVPal..39E0990L. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1680990. ISSN 0272-4634.
  6. ↑ Korth, William W.; Tabrum, Alan R. (2016-12-31). "A New Genus of Cylindrodontid Rodent from the Chadronian (Late Eocene) of Southwestern Montana and a Reassessment of the Genus Pseudocylindrodon Burke, 1935". Annals of Carnegie Museum. 84 (1): 75–93. Bibcode:2016AnCM...84...75K. doi:10.2992/007.084.0101. ISSN 0097-4463.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.