Mesogaulus

Mesogaulus Temporal range: Early Miocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Mandible of M. ballensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	† Mylagaulidae
Genus:	† Mesogaulus Riggs, 1899
Species
M.ballensis (Matthew, 1902) M. paniensis (Riggs, 1899)
Synonyms
Mylagaulus paniensis

Mesogaulus is a genus of mylagaulid rodent from Miocene North America. ^[1]

Description

Mesogaulus is very basal morphologically, lacking horns of later mylagaulids like Ceratogaulus . The genus also has large fourth premolars and hypsodont teeth, though not to the extremes of later mylagaulids. The first molar is elongated, whilst the third is more rotund. ^[2] Similar to other members of their clade, Mesogaulus has a low, broad skull. ^{[3] [4]}

Classification

Mesogaulus is currently grouped within Mesogaulinae, a potentially paraphyletic subfamily ^[5] within Mylagaulidae containing the more basal members of the group. ^[6] It has been suggested historically that Mesogaulus was ancestral to the later mylagaulines ^[2] , though this is not supported by modern phylogenies. ^[6]

References

1. "Mindat.org". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2025-10-24.
2. Field Columbian Museum.; Museum, Field Columbian; History, Field Museum of Natural (1899). Publication. Field Columbian Museum. Geological series. Vol. v.1:no.4 (1899). Chicago, U.S.A: The Museum.
3. Cook, Harold J.; Gregory, Joseph T. (1941). "Mesogaulus praecursor, a New Rodent from the Miocene of Nebraska". Journal of Paleontology. 15 (5): 549–552. ISSN   0022-3360. JSTOR   1298811.
4. Carnegie Museum; Museum, Carnegie; History, Carnegie Museum of Natural (2000). Annals of the Carnegie Museum. Vol. v.69 (2000:Feb.-Nov.). [Pittsburgh]: Published by authority of the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Institute.
5. Lu, Xiaoyu; Ni, Xijun; Li, Lüzhou; Li, Qiang (2016-08-03). "Two New Mylagaulid Rodents from the Early Miocene of China". PLOS ONE. 11 (8) e0159445. Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1159445L. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159445 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   4972310 . PMID   27486803.
6. Hopkins, Samantha S. B. (2005-08-22). "The evolution of fossoriality and the adaptive role of horns in the Mylagaulidae (Mammalia: Rodentia)". Proceedings. Biological Sciences. 272 (1573): 1705–1713. doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3171. ISSN   0962-8452. PMC   1559849 . PMID   16087426.