Myocastor

Myocastor Temporal range: Late Miocene - Recent
Nutria (Myocastor coypus)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Echimyidae
Subfamily:	Echimyinae
Tribe:	Myocastorini
Genus:	Myocastor Kerr, 1792
Species
Myocastor coypus † Myocastor columnaris † Myocastor obesus † Myocastor paranensis

Myocastor is a genus of rodent that contains the living nutria (or coypu), as well as several fossil species.

Taxonomy

Due to similar cranial morphology, the nutria was once considered a close relative of the Caribbean hutias and placed together with them in the family Capromyidae. ^[1] Later, it was more accepted to place it in its own family, the Myocastoridae. ^[2] Recent molecular studies place them in the family Echimyidae, in the tribe Myocastorini. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Fossil record

Kerber et al. (2013) recognize the following species as valid: ^[6]

• Myocastor columnaris (Middle Pleistocene)
• Myocastor obesus (Late Miocene)
• Myocastor paranensis (Late Miocene)

Other species described but no longer considered valid include Myocastor minor, Myocastor perditus, and Myocastor priscus.

References

1. Woods, C.A.; Howland, E.B. (1979). "Adaptive Radiation of Capromyid Rodents: Anatomy of the Masticatory Apparatus". Journal of Mammalogy. 60 (1): 95–116. doi:10.2307/1379762. JSTOR   1379762.
2. Woods, C. A. (1982). "The history and classification of South American Hystricognath rodents: reflections on the far away and long ago". In Mares, M. A.; Genoways, H. H. (eds.). Mammalian Biology in South America. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh. pp. 377–392.
3. Galewski, Thomas; Mauffrey, Jean-François; Leite, Yuri L. R.; Patton, James L.; Douzery, Emmanuel J. P. (2005). "Ecomorphological diversification among South American spiny rats (Rodentia; Echimyidae): a phylogenetic and chronological approach". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 34 (3): 601–615. Bibcode:2005MolPE..34..601G. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.11.015. PMID   15683932.
4. Upham, Nathan S.; Patterson, Bruce D. (2012). "Diversification and biogeography of the Neotropical caviomorph lineage Octodontoidea (Rodentia: Hystricognathi)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 63 (2): 417–429. Bibcode:2012MolPE..63..417U. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.01.020. PMID   22327013.
5. Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Upham, Nathan S.; Emmons, Louise H.; Justy, Fabienne; Leite, Yuri L. R.; Loss, Ana Carolina; Orlando, Ludovic; Tilak, Marie-Ka; Patterson, Bruce D.; Douzery, Emmanuel J. P. (2017-03-01). "Mitogenomic Phylogeny, Diversification, and Biogeography of South American Spiny Rats". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 34 (3): 613–633. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msw261 . ISSN   0737-4038. PMID   28025278.
6. Kerber, L. (2013). "Late Quaternary fossil record of Myocastor Kerr, 1792 (Rodentia: Hystricognathi: Caviomorpha) from Brazil with taxonomical and environmental remarks". Quaternary International: 1–12.