Orycteropodidae

Orycteropodidae Temporal range: 20–0  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Early Miocene to Recent [1]
Aardvark (Orycteropus afer)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Superorder:	Afrotheria
Grandorder:	Afroinsectiphilia
Order:	Tubulidentata Huxley, 1872
Family:	Orycteropodidae Gray, 1821
Genera
Orycteropus † Amphiorycteropus † Eteketoni [2] † Leptorycteropus † Myorycteropus [1]

Orycteropodidae is a family of afrotherian mammals. Although there are many fossil species, the only species surviving today is the aardvark (Orycteropus afer). Orycteropodidae is recognized as the only family within the order Tubulidentata, from the Latin words tubulis (tubule) and dentis (tooth), referring to the tubule-style teeth, so the two are effectively synonyms. ^{[1] [3] [4]}

Evolution

The first aardvark fossil discovered was originally named Orycteropus gaudryi (now Amphiorycteropus ) and was found in Turolian deposits on the island of Samos. ^[1] Since then, representatives of the order Tubulidentata have been located from the Oligocene in what is now Europe, and it is believed that the order probably originated around 65–70 million years ago or in the Paleocene. ^{[5] [6]} They are thought to be closely related to Ptolemaiida, an extinct lineage of carnivorous afrotheres. ^{[7] [8]} The family arose in Africa in the Early Miocene epoch, and spread to Eurasia later in the Miocene. Most of the family's diversity had become extinct by the end of the Pliocene. ^[1]

Characteristics

Orycteropodidae skeleton

Aardvarks were originally categorized as relatives of American anteaters in the order Edentata. However, their unique teeth structure and other morphological characteristics made it clear that aardvarks are not closely related to any other living mammals. Since the end of the 19th century, the aardvark has been placed in a separate order, Tubulidentata. Both the fossil record and genetic studies have corroborated that separate status. All similarities to American anteaters have evolved independently as adaptations to eating ants and termites.

One of the most distinctive features of the animals is that their teeth have a "tubulidentate" microstructure, lacking enamel, and are rounded structures of dentine. They lack incisors and canines, and have 20–22 teeth, which are unrooted, diphyodont, and continuously grow. Another unique trait is that their small milk teeth are lost before the animal is born.^{[ citation needed ]}

A few anatomical characters unite the Orycteropodidae and Tubulidentata. The occipital region of the skull has extensive mastoid exposure, the femur has a pectineal tubercle, and the diaphysis of the tibia is curved mediolaterally.^{[ citation needed ]}

Modern aardvarks are polygynous, the females providing care for the young. They are territorial, and only cross paths to breed. The males' genitals create a musk while females create this musk from glands in their elbows, this scent helps mating occur. The gestation period lasts about seven months, and they are dependent upon the mother until they are six months of age, becoming sexually mature at two years of age. Breeding occurs once a year, they produce one offspring, and will have maybe one to two more in their lifetime. Aardvarks are myrmecophagous, feeding almost exclusively on termites and ants. They rely on their sense of smell to find most of their food and hunt at night.

Classification

This classification follows Lehmann 2009. ^{[1] [9]}

• Genus † Scotaeops Ameghino 1887 [Scoteops[ sic ] Ameghino 1894]
  • † S. simplex Ameghino 1887
• Genus † Archaeorycteropus Ameghino 1905
• Genus † Palaeorycteropus Filhol 1893 [Palaeoryctoropus[ sic ] Filhol 1893]
  • † P. quercyi Filhol 1893
• Genus † Myorycteropus MacInnes, 1956
  • † M. africanus MacInnes, 1956 [Orycteropus africanusMacInnes 1955] type species
  • †aff. M. chemeldoi (Pickford, 1975) [Orycteropus chemeldoiPickford 1975]
  • †aff. M. minutus (Pickford, 1975) [Orycteropus minutusPickford 1975]
• Genus † Leptorycteropus Patterson, 1975
  • † L. guilielmi Patterson, 1975
• Genus † Amphiorycteropus Lehmann 2009
  • † A. gaudryi (Major, 1888) [Orycteropus gaudryiMajor 1888] type species
  • † A. abundulafus (Lehmann et al., 2005) [Orycteropus abundulafusLehmann et al. 2005] ^[10]
  • † A. browni (Colbert, 1933) [Orycteropus browniColbert 1933; Orycteropus pilgrimiColbert 1933]
  • † A. depereti (Helbing, 1933) [Orycteropus deperetiHelbing 1933]
  • † A. mauritanicus (Arambourg, 1959) [Orycteropus mauritanicusArambourg 1959]
  • †aff. A. pottieri (Ozansoy, 1965) [Orycteropus pottieriOzansoy 1965]
  • †aff. A. seni (Tekkaya, 1993) [Orycteropus seniTekkaya 1993]
• Genus Orycteropus Geoffroy St. Hilaire 1796 [Oryctopus[ sic ] Rafinesque 1815; Oryctheropus[ sic ] Muirhead 1819; Orajeteropus[ sic ] Hill 1913]
  • † O. crassidens MacInnes, 1956
  • † O. djourabensis Lehmann et al. 2004
  • O. afer (Pallas 1776) Aardvark (type species)
    • O. a. capensis(Gmelin 1788) [Myrmecophaga capensisGmelin 1788;Orycteropus capensisGmelin 1788] (Cape Aardvark)
    • O. a. senegalensisLesson 1840 [Orycteropus senegalensisSchinz 1845] (Western/Senegambian Aardvark)
    • O. a. haussanusMatschie 1900 [Orycteropus haussanusMatschie 1900] (Hausa Aardvark)
    • O. a. adametziGrote 1921 [Orycteropus adametzi]
    • O. a. leptodonHirst 1906 [Orycteropus leptodonHirst 1906] (Cameroon Aardvark)
    • O. a. erikssoniLönnberg 1906 [Orycteropus erikssoniLonnberg 1906; Orycteropus erikssoni erikssoni] (Eriksson's/North Congo Aardvark)
    • O. a. albicaudusRothschild 1907 (South-western/Damara Aardvark)
    • O. a. angolensisZukowsky & Haltenorth 1957 [Orycteropus angolensis] (Angolan Aardvark)
    • O. a. afer(Pallas 1776) [Orycteropus afer wertheriMatschie 1898; Orycteropus wertheriMatschie 1900 (East African/Bagamoyo Aardvark)] (Southern Aardvark)
    • O. a. wardiLydekker 1908 [Orycteropus wardi] (Congo/Ward's Aardvark)
    • O. a. observandusGrote 1921 [Orycteropus observandus]
    • O. a. matschieiGrote 1921 [Orycteropus matschiei]
    • O. a. lademanniGrote 1911 [Orycteropus lademanni]
    • O. a. ruvanensisGrote 1921 [Orycteropus ruvanensis] (Ruwana Aardvark)
    • O. a. faradjiusHatt 1932 [Orycteropus erikssoni faradjius] (Faradje Aardvark)
    • O. a. kordofanicusRothschild 1927 [Orycteropus kordofanicus] (Kordofan Aardvark)
    • O. a. aethiopicusSundevall 1843 [Orycteropus aethiopicus] (Northeastern/Abyssinian Aardvark)
    • O. a. somalicusLydekker 1908 [Orycteropus somalicus] (Somalia Aardvark)

Footnotes

1. Lehmann 2009
2. Martin Pickford (2019). Orycteropodidae (Tubulidentata, Mammalia) from the Early Miocene of Napak, Uganda. Vol. 47. pp. 1–101. ISBN   978-3-89937-247-2.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
3. "Glossary. American Museum of Natural History". Archived from the original on 20 November 2021.
4. Schlitter 2005 , p. 86
5. Shoshani 2002 , p. 619
6. Shoshani 2002 , p. 620
7. Cote S, Werdelin L, Seiffert ER, Barry JC (March 2007). "Additional material of the enigmatic Early Miocene mammal Kelba and its relationship to the order Ptolemaiida". Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 104 (13): 5510–5. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.5510C. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0700441104 . PMC   1838468 . PMID   17372202.
8. Seiffert, Erik R (2007). "A new estimate of afrotherian phylogeny based on simultaneous analysis of genomic, morphological, and fossil evidence". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 7 (1): 224. Bibcode:2007BMCEE...7..224S. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-7-224 . PMC   2248600 . PMID   17999766.
9. Mikko's Phylogeny Archive Haaramo, Mikko (2007). "Tubulidentata – aardwarks" . Retrieved 30 December 2015.
10. Lehmann et al. 2005

References

• Lehmann, Thomas (2009). "Phylogeny and systematics of the Orycteropodidae (Mammalia, Tubulidentata)" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 155 (3): 649–702. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00460.x .
• Lehmann, Thomas; Vignaud, Patrick; Likius, Andossa; Brunet, Michel (2005). "A new species of Orycteropodidae (Mammalia, Tubulidentata) in the Mio-Pliocene of northern Chad" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 143 (1): 109–131. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2004.00143.x .
• Schlitter, D.A. (2005). "Order Tubulidentata". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 86. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
• Shoshani, Jeheskel (2002). "Tubulidentata". In Robertson, Sarah (ed.). Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. Vol. 18: Svedberg, Theodor to Two-hybrid and Related Systems. London, UK: Nature Publishing Group. ISBN   978-1-56159-274-6.

Further reading

• "A sub-complete fossil aardvark (Mammalia, Tubulidentata) from the Upper Miocene of Chad". doi : 10.1016/j.crpv.2005.12.016
• MacInnes D. G. (1956). Fossil Tubulidentata from East Africa. British Museum (Natural History), London. Fossil mammals of Africa series; no. 10. 46 pp.