Mylagaulidae

Mylagaulids Temporal range: 28–5  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Oligocene - Early Pliocene
Reconstruction of Ceratogaulus hatcheri
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Suborder:	Sciuromorpha
Family:	† Mylagaulidae Cope, 1881
Subfamilies
See text

The Mylagaulidae or mylagaulids are an extinct clade of sciuromorph rodents nested within the family Aplodontiidae. ^{[1] [2]} They are known from the Neogene of North America and China. ^{[3] [4]} The oldest member is the Late Oligocene Trilaccogaulus montanensis that lived some 29 million years ago (Mya), and the youngest was Ceratogaulus hatcheri —formerly in the invalid genus "Epigaulus" ^{[2] [5]} —which was found barely into the Pliocene, some 5 Mya. ^[6]

Systematics

Three subfamilies are recognized. The taxonomy of Galbreathia is not resolved; it might belong in Mylagaulinae, but lacks the characteristic apomorphies. ^[6]

Promylagaulinae

• Genus Crucimys
• Genus Promylagaulus
• Genus Trilaccogaulus
• Genus Simpligaulus

Mesogaulinae

• Genus Mesogaulus - includes Mylagaulodon

Mylagaulinae

• Genus Alphagaulus (paraphyletic ^[6] )
• Genus Ceratogaulus - includes "Epigaulus"
• Genus Hesperogaulus
• Genus Mylagaulus
• Genus Notogaulus
• Genus Pterogaulus
• Genus Umbogaulus

incertae sedis

• Genus Galbreathia - basal in Mylagaulinae?

Footnotes

1. Calede, Jonathan J. M.; Samuels, Joshua X. (2020-09-01). "A new species of Ceratogaulus from Nebraska and the evolution of nasal horns in Mylagaulidae (Mammalia, Rodentia, Aplodontioidea)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (17): 1395–1414. doi:10.1080/14772019.2020.1765889. ISSN   1477-2019. S2CID   219902187.
2. Hopkins, Samantha S. B. (August 2008). "Phylogeny and evolutionary history of the Aplodontoidea (Mammalia: Rodentia)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 153 (4): 769–838. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00399.x . hdl: 1794/10750 .
3. Tesakov, A. S.; Lopatin, A. V. (January 2015). "First record of Mylagaulid rodents (Rodentia, mammalia) from the Miocene of Eastern Siberia (Olkhon island, Baikal Lake, Irkutsk Region, Russia)". Doklady Biological Sciences. 460 (1): 23–26. doi:10.1134/S0012496615010032. ISSN   0012-4966. PMID   25773245. S2CID   254412481.
4. Wu; et al. "Mylagaulids (Mammalia: Rodentia) from the early Middle Miocene of northern Junggar Basin" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-01-05.
5. Korth, William W. (September 2013). "Mylagaulid Rodents (Mammalia: Rodentia: Mylagaulidae) from the Middle Miocene (Barstovian) of New Mexico". Annals of Carnegie Museum. 81 (4): 233–245. doi:10.2992/007.081.0403. ISSN   0097-4463. S2CID   86013119.
6. Hopkins (2005)

References

• Hopkins, Samantha S.B. (2005): The evolution of fossoriality and the adaptive role of horns in the Mylagaulidae (Mammalia: Rodentia). Proc. R. Soc. B 272(1573): 1705–1713. doi : 10.1098/rspb.2005.3171 PDF fulltext ^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
• McKenna, M. C, and S. K. Bell (1997): Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press. ISBN   0-231-11012-X