Saidomys

Saidomys Temporal range: Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Genus:	† Saidomys James & Slaughter, 1974
Type species
Saidomys natrunensis James & Slaughter, 1974
Other species
Saidomys afarensisSabatier, 1982

Saidomys is an extinct genus of murid rodent that lived in Africa during the Pliocene epoch.

Distribution

Saidomys afarensis hails from the mid-Pliocene of Ethiopia, ^[1] whereas Saidomys natrunensis is known from the mid-Pliocene of Egypt. ^[2]

Palaeoecology

The dental microwear of S. afarensis bears the most similarities to that of extant rodents that consume grass, suggesting that S. afarensis too was primarily an eater of grass. ^[3]

References

1. Sabatier, Maurice (15 February 1982). "Les rongeurs du site Pliocène à Hominidés de Hadar (Ethiope)". PalaeoVertebrata. ISSN   2274-0333.
2. Slaughter, Bob H.; James, Gideon T. (29 May 1979). "Saidomys natrunensis, an Arvicanthine Rodent from the Pliocene of Egypt". Journal of Mammalogy . 60 (2): 421–425. doi:10.2307/1379821. ISSN   1545-1542 . Retrieved 28 September 2025– via Oxford Academic.
3. Gomes Rodrigues, Helder; Merceron, Gildas; Viriot, Laurent (6 January 2009). "Dental microwear patterns of extant and extinct Muridae (Rodentia, Mammalia): ecological implications". Naturwissenschaften . 96 (4): 537–542. doi:10.1007/s00114-008-0501-x. ISSN   0028-1042 . Retrieved 28 September 2025– via Springer Nature Link.