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]

Mylagaulids
Temporal range: 28–5 Ma Late Oligocene - Early Pliocene
Reconstruction of Ceratogaulus hatcheri
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Sciuromorpha
Family: Mylagaulidae
Cope, 1881
Subfamilies

See text

Systematics edit

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

Promylagaulinae

Mesogaulinae

Mylagaulinae

incertae sedis

Footnotes edit

  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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c Hopkins (2005)

References edit

  • 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