Epoicotheriidae

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Epoicotheriidae
Temporal range: 57.8–30.9  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
late Paleocene - early Oligocene
Xenocranium NT.jpg
Artist reconstruction of
Xenocranium pileorivale
compared to the size of a human hand.
Pentapassalus pearcei.jpg
skull of Pentapassalus pearcei
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Palaeanodonta
Family: Epoicotheriidae
Simpson, 1927 [1]
Type genus
Epoicotherium
Simpson, 1927
Genera [2]

Epoicotheriidae ("strange beasts") is an extinct paraphyletic family of insectivorous placental mammals within extinct order Palaeanodonta, that lived in North America, Asia and Europe from the late Paleocene to early Oligocene. [2] Epoicotheriids were fossorial mammals. Late Eocene/early Oligocene genera were highly specialized animals that were convergent with the talpids, golden moles and marsupial mole in the structure of their skulls and forelimbs, and would have had a similar lifestyle as subterranean burrowers. [3]

Contents

Classification and phylogeny

Taxonomy

Epoicotheriidae was named by Simpson in 1927. It was assigned to the Palaeanodonta by Rose (1978) [4] and Carroll (1988).

Classification

Phylogenetic tree

The phylogenetic relationships of family Epoicotheriidae are shown in the following cladogram: [5] [6] [7]

  Ferae  

Pan-Carnivora Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate XI).jpg

  Pholidotamorpha  

Pholidota(sensu stricto) Pangolin Hardwicke (white background).jpg

  Palaeanodonta  

Escavadodontidae

 ? 

Melaniella

Ernanodontidae

Metacheiromys Metacheiromys DB152-2.jpg

Metacheiromyinae  

Palaeanodon

Brachianodon

Mylanodon

Propalaeanodontinae

 ? 

Arcticanodon

  Pentapassalus  

Pentapassalus pearcei

Pentapassalus woodi

  Alocodontulum  

Alocodontulum atopum

  Auroratherium  

Auroratherium sinensis

  Tubulodon  

Tubulodon taylori

  Dipassalus  

Dipassalus oryctes

Epoicotheriinae
  Tetrapassalus  

Tetrapassalus mckennai

Tetrapassalus proius

Tetrapassalus sp. A (AMNH 10215)

Tetrapassalus sp. B

  Xenocranium  

Xenocranium pileorivale

  Epoicotherium  

Epoicotherium unicum

  Molaetherium  

Molaetherium heissigi

Epoicotheriidae

  Amelotabes  

Amelotabes simpsoni

 (Pholidota [sensu lato]) 
Epoicotherium/Xenocranium clade

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palaeanodonta</span> Extinct clade of mammals

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernanodontidae</span> Extinct family of mammals

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metacheiromyidae</span> Extinct family of mammals

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metacheiromyinae</span> Extinct family of mammals

Metacheiromyinae is an extinct paraphyletic subfamily of myrmecophagous placental mammals within extinct paraphyletic family Metacheiromyidae in extinct order Palaeanodonta, that lived in North America and Europe from early to middle Eocene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epoicotheriinae</span> Extinct subfamily of mammals

Epoicotheriinae is an extinct paraphyletic subfamily of insectivorous placental mammals within extinct paraphyletic family Epoicotheriidae in extinct order Palaeanodonta, that lived in North America and Europe from the early Eocene to early Oligocene. Epoicotheriins were fossorial mammals. Late Eocene/early Oligocene genera were highly specialized animals that were convergent with the talpids, golden moles and marsupial mole in the structure of their skulls and forelimbs, and would have had a similar lifestyle as subterranean burrowers.

References

  1. G. G. Simpson (1927.) "In North American Oligocene edentate." Annals of Carnegie Museum 17 (2): 283-299
  2. 1 2 "Classification of the family Epoicotheriidae". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  3. 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
  4. Rose, Kenneth D. (1978). "A New Paleocene Epoicotheriid (Mammalia), with Comments on the Palaeanodonta". Journal of Paleontology. 52 (3): 658–674. JSTOR   1303970.
  5. Kenneth D. Rose (2008). "Palaeanodonta and Pholidota". In Janis, Christine M; Gunnell, Gregg F; Uhen, Mark D (eds.). 9 - Palaeanodonta and Pholidota. pp. 135–146. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511541438.010. ISBN   9780511541438.
  6. Gaudin, Timothy (2009). "The Phylogeny of Living and Extinct Pangolins (Mammalia, Pholidota) and Associated Taxa: A Morphology Based Analysis" (PDF). Journal of Mammalian Evolution. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Science+Business Media. 16 (4): 235–305. doi:10.1007/s10914-009-9119-9. S2CID   1773698. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  7. Kondrashov, Peter; Agadjanian, Alexandre K. (2012). "A nearly complete skeleton of Ernanodon (Mammalia, Palaeanodonta) from Mongolia: morphofunctional analysis". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (5): 983–1001. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.694319. ISSN   0272-4634. S2CID   86059673.