The lagomorphs are the members of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, of which there are two living families: the Leporidae and the Ochotonidae (pikas). There are 110 recent species of lagomorph of which 109 are extant, including ten genera of rabbits, one genus of hare and one genus of pika. The name of the order is derived from the Ancient Greek lagos + morphē.
A pika is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal native to Asia and North America. With short limbs, a very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but with short, rounded ears. The large-eared pika of the Himalayas and nearby mountains lives at elevations of more than 6,000 m (20,000 ft).
Leporidae is the family of rabbits and hares, containing over 70 species of extant mammals in all. The Latin word Leporidae means "those that resemble lepus" (hare). Together with the pikas, the Leporidae constitute the mammalian order Lagomorpha. Leporidae differ from pikas in that they have short, furry tails and elongated ears and hind legs.
Ferugliotherium is a genus of fossil mammals in the family Ferugliotheriidae from the Campanian and/or Maastrichtian period of Argentina. It contains a single species, Ferugliotherium windhauseni, which was first described in 1986. Although originally interpreted on the basis of a single brachydont (low-crowned) molar as a member of Multituberculata, an extinct group of small, rodent-like mammals, it was recognized as related to the hypsodont (high-crowned) Sudamericidae following the discovery of additional material in the early 1990s. After a jaw of the sudamericid Sudamerica was described in 1999, these animals were no longer considered to be multituberculates and a few fossils that were previously considered to be Ferugliotherium were assigned to unspecified multituberculates instead. Since 2005, a relationship between gondwanatheres and multituberculates has again received support. A closely related animal, Trapalcotherium, was described in 2009 on the basis of a single tooth.
The Amami rabbit, also known as the Ryukyu rabbit is a dark-furred species of rabbit which is found only on Amami Ōshima and Tokunoshima, two small islands between southern Kyūshū and Okinawa in Japan. Often called a living fossil, the Amami rabbit is a living remnant of ancient rabbits that once lived on the Asian mainland, where they died out, remaining only on the two small Japanese islands where they live today.
Dorudon ("spear-tooth") is a genus of extinct basilosaurid ancient whales that lived alongside Basilosaurus 40.4 to 33.9 million years ago in the Eocene. It was a small whale, with D. atrox measuring 5 metres (16 ft) long and weighing 1–2.2 metric tons. Dorudon lived in warm seas around the world and fed on small fish and mollusks. Fossils have been found along the former shorelines of the Tethys Sea in present-day Egypt and Pakistan, as well as in the United States, New Zealand and Western Sahara.
The Omilteme cottontail is a cottontail rabbit found only in the state of Guerrero, Mexico in the mountain range of Sierra Madre del Sur. Belonging to the family Leporidae, it is one of fourteen species in the genus Sylvilagus, a genus restricted to the New World. The Omilteme cottontail is considered one of the most endangered rabbit species in the world and is only known and been described by very few specimens.
Lufengpithecus is an extinct genus of ape, known from the Late Miocene of East Asia. It is known from thousands of dental remains and a few skulls and probably weighed about 50 kg (110 lb). It contains three species: L. lufengensis, L. hudienensis and L. keiyuanensis. Lufengpithecus lufengensis is from the Late Miocene found in China, named after the Lufeng site and dated around 6.2 Ma. Lufengpithecus is either thought to be the sister group to Ponginae, or the sister to the clade containing Ponginae and Homininae.
Nesolagus is a genus of rabbits containing three species of striped rabbit: the Annamite striped rabbit, the Sumatran striped rabbit, and the extinct species N. sinensis. Overall there is very little known about the genus as a whole, most information coming from the Sumatran rabbit.
Gobicyon is an extinct genus of large-sized carnivoran mammals, belonging to the Amphicyonidae, that was discovered in China, Mongolia, and Serbia, and lived during the Middle Miocene epoch. Despite only being known from rather fragmentary remains, recent discoveries showcase that it was an aberrant member of the subfamily Haplocyoninae, with adaptions towards bone-crushing similar to those of a hyaena.
Dermotherium is a genus of fossil mammals closely related to the living colugos, a small group of gliding mammals from Southeast Asia. Two species are recognized: D. major from the Late Eocene of Thailand, based on a single fragment of the lower jaw, and D. chimaera from the Late Oligocene of Thailand, known from three fragments of the lower jaw and two isolated upper molars. In addition, a single isolated upper molar from the Early Oligocene of Pakistan has been tentatively assigned to D. chimaera. All sites where fossils of Dermotherium have been found were probably forested environments and the fossil species were probably forest dwellers like living colugos, but whether they had the gliding adaptations of the living species is unknown.
Apeomyoides savagei is a fossil rodent from the Miocene of the United States, the only species in the genus Apeomyoides. It is known from fragmentary jaws and isolated teeth from a site in the early Barstovian, around 15–16 million years ago, of Nevada. Together with other species from scattered localities in the United States, Japan, and Europe, Apeomyoides is classified in the subfamily Apeomyinae of the extinct rodent family Eomyidae. Apeomyines are a rare but widespread group that may have been adapted to a relatively dry habitat.
Sivaladapis is a genus of adapiform primate that lived in Asia during the middle Miocene.
Exiguodon is an extinct genus of hyainailourid hyaenodont mammal of the subfamily Hyainailourinae. Remains are known from early Miocene deposits in Kenya and Uganda, in East Africa.
Sectisodon is an extinct genus of hyainailourid hyaenodont mammal of the subfamily Hyainailourinae from early Oligocene to early Miocene deposits in Egypt and Uganda.
Arthur H. Harris is an American mammalogist and paleontologist.
Nesolagus sinensis is a fossil species of striped rabbit from the early Middle Pleistocene "Gigantopithecus fauna" of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. It is believed to be ancestral to the living members of the genus, and to have evolved from the Miocene genus Alilepus. It is the first fossil taxon in its genus, and the only leporid in the Gigantopithecus fauna.
Namafelis is an extinct genus of felids that lived in what is now Namibia during the Early Miocene. It contains a single species, Namafelis minor. Closely related to Diamantofelis, it is of “Pseudaelurus-grade”, and therefore a rather basal member of the cat family.
Namibiocyon is an extinct genus of carnivoran mammals, belonging to the family Amphicyonidae, that lived in Namibia during the Early Miocene epoch. Before the erection of this taxon in 2022, the type and only species, N. ginsburgi, had been assigned to a variety of other genera. It is notable for its adaptions toward hypercarnivory.
Eoarctos is an extinct genus of arctoid carnivorans, known from the latest Eocene to early Oligocene of North Dakota and Nebraska. It is known from several remains, the most notable of which is the almost perfectly preserved skeleton of a large male. It was comparable in build and size to a fisher or small raccoon, with an estimated body mass of 4.3 kg, and possessed a variety of features that indicate a mix of terrestrial and scansorial locomotion. Its most notable feature is its unique dentition, with its massive premolars and hypocarnivorous molars, as well as its robust mandible, indicating that it consumed hard-shelled prey, possibly making it the oldest molluscivorous carnivoran known.
