Micromomyidae

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Micromomyidae
Temporal range: 56.8–50.3  Ma [1]
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Plesiadapiformes
Family: Micromomyidae
Szalay, 1974
Genera [2]

Micromomyidae (Micromomids) is a family of extinct plesiadapiform mammals that include some of the earliest known primates. [3] [4] The family includes five genera [5] that lived from the Paleocene epoch into the early Eocene epoch. [4]

Micromomyids first appeared in the fossil record between 61.7 and 56.8 million years ago with the Micromomys genus. All but one specimen has been discovered in modern-day inland North America, more specifically in Wyoming, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, [5] [6] with one unlabeled Eocene species found in Shandong, China. [6]

Like other known Plesiadapiformes, it appears that the micromomyids were small, tree-dwelling insectivores. [4] [5] [7] They are thought to be some of the smallest of their order, with estimates for some species around 10-40g, [4] [7] or one-third to one and a half ounces, in weight.

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Plesiadapidae Family of mammals

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Itaboraian

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Microsyops is a plesiadapiform primate found in Middle Eocene in North America. It is in the family Microsyopidae. It appears to have had a more developed sense of smell than other early primates. It is believed to have eaten fruit, and its fossils show the oldest known dental cavities in a mammal.

<i>Ignacius</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Ignacius is a genus of extinct mammal from the early Cenozoic era. This genus is present in the fossil record from around 62-33 Ma. The earliest known specimens of Ignacius come from the Torrejonian of the Fort Union Formation, Wyoming and the most recent known specimen of Ignacius was found in the Medicine Pole Hills of North Dakota. Ignacius is one of ten genera within the family Paromomyidae, the longest living family of any plesiadapiforms, persisting for around 30 Ma during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs. The analyses of postcranial fossils by paleontologists suggest that members of the family Paromomyidae, including the genus Ignacius, most likely possessed adaptations for arboreality.

Bownomomys was an early marmoset-like primate that lived in North America during the Early Eocene epoch, about 56-50 million years ago.

Wyonycteris is a genus of small mammals that existed in the late Paleocene and early Eocene epochs. The type species is Wyonycteris chalix, which lived in Wyoming during the Clarkforkian North American Land Mammal Age of the Paleocene and was originally proposed to be an early form of insectivorous bat. Later re-examination of the material has put this alliance in doubt, and the genus has instead been proposed as belonging to the subfamily Placentidentinae, within the family Nyctitheriidae. Similar fossil material of the same time period found in Europe was later discovered and described as new species, Wyonycteris richardi.

Navajovius is an extinct genus of plesiadapiforms that lived during the Paleocene epoch. Plesiadapiforms were small, arboreal mammals that are theorized to be either closely related to primates or dermopterans. Navajovius has only been documented from localities within North America. This genus was officially named in 1921 by Walter Granger and William Matthew and the type specimen is housed at the American Museum of Natural History.

Saxonella is a genus of extinct primate from the Paleocene Epoch, 66-56 Ma. The genus is present in the fossil record from around ~62-57 Ma. Saxonella has been found in fissure fillings in Walbeck, Germany as well as in the Paskapoo Formation in Alberta, Canada. Saxonella is one of five families within the superfamily Plesiadapoidae, which appears in the fossil record from the mid Paleocene to the early Eocene. Analyses of molars by paleontologists suggest that Saxonella most likely had a folivorous diet.

Torrejonia is a genus of extinct plesiadapiform that belongs to the family Palaechthonidae. There are currently two species known, T. wilsoni and T. sirokyi. This genus is present in the fossil record from around 62-58 Ma. Species belonging to this genus are suggested to be plesiadapiforms based on adaptations observed in the skeletal morphology consistent with arboreal locomotor behavior. Following the mass extinction event at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (K-Pg), a large diversity of plesiadapiform families were documented beginning at the Torrejonian NALMA. Research has shown that T. wilsoni is one of the largest palaechthonids and is reconstructed as being more frugivorous than other palaechthonids.

References

  1. "Fossilworks: Micromomyidae". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. "Fossilworks: Micromomyidae". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  3. "Genus †Micromomys - Hierarchy - The Taxonomicon". taxonomicon.taxonomy.nl. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Chester, Stephen G.B.; Bloch, Jonathan I. (August 2013). "Systematics of Paleogene Micromomyidae (Euarchonta, Primates) from North America". Journal of Human Evolution. 65 (2): 109–142. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.04.006. PMID   23850536.
  5. 1 2 3 "Fossilworks: Micromomyidae". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  6. 1 2 "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  7. 1 2 Bloch, Jonathan I.; Silcox, Mary T.; Boyer, Doug M.; Sargis, Eric J. (2007-01-23). "New Paleocene skeletons and the relationship of plesiadapiforms to crown-clade primates". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (4): 1159–1164. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0610579104 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   1783133 . PMID   17229835.