| Synaptomys australis Temporal range: Pleistocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Subfamily: | Arvicolinae |
| Genus: | Synaptomys |
| Species: | †S. australis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Synaptomys australis (Simpsons, 1928) [1] | |
Synaptomys australis, the Florida bog lemming, is an extinct species of bog lemming that occurred in Florida during the Late Pleistocene.
Although the bog lemmings are not indigenous to Florida at the present time, remains are known there from the Pleistocene, indicating the range of these normally cold-adapted rodents extended further south during glaciation events. [2] The Florida bog lemming was described from a lower jaw collected from Pleistocene deposits in 1928. [3] Its taxonomic status as a full species has been questioned however, with some researchers considering it a prehistoric race of the southern bog lemming. [4] [5]
The Florida bog lemming was slightly larger than the living southern bog lemming. [4] It went extinct around 12,000 BP, as a result of glacial retreat and the return of very warm temperatures.
The Pliocene Epoch is the epoch in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58 million years BP. It is the second and most recent epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch. Prior to the 2009 revision of the geologic time scale, which placed the four most recent major glaciations entirely within the Pleistocene, the Pliocene also included the Gelasian Stage, which lasted from 2.588 to 1.806 million years ago, and is now included in the Pleistocene.
The Arvicolinae are a subfamily of rodents that includes the voles, lemmings, and muskrats. They are most closely related to the other subfamilies in the Cricetidae. Some authorities place the subfamily Arvicolinae in the family Muridae along with all other members of the superfamily Muroidea. Some refer to the subfamily as the Microtinae or rank the taxon as a full family, the Arvicolidae.
The Norway lemming, also known as the Norwegian lemming is a common species of lemming found in northern Fennoscandia, where it is the only vertebrate species endemic to the region. The Norway lemming dwells in tundra and fells, and prefers to live near water. Adults feed primarily on sedges, grasses and moss. They are active at both day and night, alternating naps with periods of activity.
The genus Hydrochoerus contains two living and two extinct species of rodents from South America, the Caribbean island of Grenada, and Panama. Capybaras are the largest living rodents in the world. The genus name is derived from the Greek ὕδωρ plus χοίρος.
The northern bog lemming is a small North American lemming. It is one of two species in the genus Synaptomys, the other being the southern bog lemming.
The southern bog lemming is a small North American lemming. Its range overlaps with the other species in genus Synaptomys, the northern bog lemming, in southeastern Canada, but extends farther south.
Synaptomys is a genus of North American lemmings. These animals live in wet forested and open areas. They are small, cylindrical rodents with large heads and short ears, legs, and tails. They eat green vegetation such as grasses and sedges. They are often found in colonies.
Lemmini is a tribe of lemmings in the subfamily Arvicolinae. Species in this tribe are:
Castoroides, or giant beaver, is an extinct genus of enormous, bear-sized beavers that lived in North America during the Pleistocene. Two species are currently recognized, C. dilophidus in the Southeastern US and C. ohioensis in the rest of its range. C. leiseyorum was previously described from the Irvingtonian of Florida, but is now regarded as an invalid name. All specimens previously described as C. leiseyorum are considered to belong to C. dilophidus.
The plains rat(Pseudomys australis), also known as the palyoora, plains mouse and eastern mouse, is a conilurine rodent native to arid and semi-arid Australia. Referred to as the pallyoora or yarlie by Indigenous groups, the plains rat was once widely distributed across central Australia, including north-west New South Wales and south-west Queensland; however, habitat degradation due to grazing, introduced predators and drought have contributed to its decline. Consequently, the plains rat has been listed as 'presumed extinct' in New South Wales and Victoria, 'endangered' in the Northern Territory and Queensland and 'vulnerable' in Western Australia and South Australia. While recent research has indicated the presence of the plains rat in areas such as the Fowlers Gap and Strzelecki Desert regions of New South Wales and within the Diamantina National Park in Queensland, there are only five sub-populations currently recognised nationally, none of which coincide with recent discoveries of the plains rat. As the current population trend of the plains rat has been listed as 'declining' by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the IUCN conservation status for the species is 'vulnerable'.
A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes rats, mice, hamsters, and gerbils. In popular culture, a longstanding myth holds that they jump off cliffs and commit mass suicide.
Carletonomys cailoi is an extinct rodent from the Pleistocene (Ensenadan) of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Although known only from a single maxilla with the first molar, its features are so distinctive that it is placed in its own genus, Carletonomys. Discovered in 1998 and formally described in 2008, it is part of a well-defined group of oryzomyine rodents that also includes Holochilus, Noronhomys, Lundomys, and Pseudoryzomys. This group is characterized by progressive semiaquatic specializations and a reduction in the complexity of molar morphology.
Hypogeomys australis is an extinct rodent from central and southeastern Madagascar. First described in 1903, it is larger than its close relative, the living Hypogeomys antimena, which occurs further west, but otherwise similar. Average length of the femur is 72.1 mm, compared to 63.8 mm in H. antimena. One of the few extinct rodents of Madagascar, it survived to at least around 1536 BP based on radiocarbon dating. Little is known of its ecology, but it may have lived in burrows like its living relative and eaten some arid-adapted plants.
Listrophorus is a genus of parasitic mites in the family Listrophoridae. North American species with their hosts include:
Prolistrophorus grassii is a parasitic mite in the genus Prolistrophorus. It was described as Listrophorus grassii in 1954 from the marsh rice rat in Georgia. In 1974, Fain and Hyland placed it in Prolistrophorus and in 1984, Fain and Lukoschus redescribed the species on the basis of collections from the marsh rice rat in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida and the southern bog lemming in Indiana, West Virginia, and Iowa.
Clark Quarry is a paleontological dig site in southern Georgia. The site first discovered fossils by the building of the Brunswick Canal in 1838-1839.
Dusicyon avus is an extinct species of canid in the genus Dusicyon, native to South America during the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. It was medium to large, about the size of a German shepherd. It was closely related to the warrah or Falkland Islands wolf, and was the ancestral species from which it diverged. It appears to have survived until very recently, perhaps 400 years ago.
Neochoerus aesopi was a relatively large rodent species native to North America until their extinction about 12,000 years ago, being closely related to modern capybaras. It was part of the subfamily Hydrochoerinae. Fossils of it have been found in U.S. states such as Florida and South Carolina. The species was originally outlined in 1853.
Antidorcas australis, also known as the southern springbok, is an extinct species of antelope from the Pleistocene and Holocene of South Africa. It is a close relative of the living springbok.
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