DOCSLIB.ORG

Morphology of the Auditory Region in Paramys Copei and Other Eocene Rodents from North America

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Morphology of the Auditory Region in Paramys Copei and Other Eocene Rodents from North America PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10024 Number 3307, 16 pp., 4 ®gures, 1 table 13 December, 2000 Morphology of the Auditory Region in Paramys copei and Other Eocene Rodents from North America JOHN H. WAHLERT1 ABSTRACT The morphology of the external surface of the petrosal and its junction with the basioccipital in Paramys copei is described. Comparison with an outgroup of the Cretaceous Vincelestes and Recent Didelphis and Solenodon reveals that the auditory region retains many primitive features. The Eocene paramyines from North America show only slight differences. Sciuravus is set apart by the lack of a ventral petrosal sinus canal between the petrosal and basioccipital and by the facial nerve and stapedial artery sharing a common foramen in the petrosal. Eu- ropean theridomyids, too, are not as primitive as Paramys but share with it and Sciuravus a ridge on the promontorium that separates the transpromontorial continuation of the internal carotid artery from the origin of the tensor tympani muscle. Twelve characters of the auditory region are analyzed and summarized in a data matrix for use in future studies. Relative prim- itiveness of the auditory region in all of these Eocene rodents suggests that derived characters in later rodent taxa may represent intraordinal relationships but only homoplasy with nonro- dents. INTRODUCTION in publications on cranial anatomy. Thus, a Rodent auditory regions are suf®ciently wealth of additional characters exists that can known for some characters to be used in phy- be described and evaluated for polarity (prim- logenetic analyses. However, many visible itive or derived). Paramys (family Ischyro- structural details are not routinely described myidae) is a key taxon in this category. It is College, City University of New York; member of doctoral faculty, CUNY Ph.D. program in biology: ecology, evolutionary biology, and behavior subprogram. 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 3307 one of the oldest fossil rodents in which suf- 1962, ®gs. 13 and 14; Wahlert, 1974, ®g. 2. ®cient detail has been preserved, and, in Similarly, independent versions of the audi- North American paleontology, the genus has tory region have been published: Wood, been placed near the base of the rodent family 1962, ®g. 14a; Wahlert, 1974, ®g. 4; Parent, tree as a kind of structural ancestor or ex- 1980, pl. 2, ®gs. 2, 4; Lavocat and Parent, ample of primitiveness (Gregory, 1951: ®g. 1985, ®g. 1c. However, I found that there 19.40; Wood, 1962: ®g. 90). One expects it was still matrix obscuring morphology in the to be almost wholly primitive for rodents. auditory region and even a matrix-covered Other contenders for structural primitiveness petrosal displaced posterolaterally on AMNH among rodents are the North American genus 4755. To sit at a microscope and carefully Sciuravus, which McKenna and Bell (1997: use the sharpened tip of a thin beading nee- 186) put in a new and different suborder from dle to push away the ®ne covering matrix the Ischyromyidae, and the European theri- gives one an intimate feel for the shapes and domyids (Lavocat and Parent, 1985: 338). Li edges as they are revealed. Identi®cation of et al. (1989) described the auditory region of these features and comparisons with other Cocomys, a rodent from the early Eocene of living and extinct mammals were made from China; future restudy of this specimen should the literature mentioned below and from the yield important comparative details. ontogenetic studies by MacPhee (1981) and My primary purpose in this paper is to de- Wible (1984). scribe and illustrate the auditory region in Among the ®rst major comparative studies Paramys copei, AMNH 4755 (holotype) and on auditory regions in mammals was that of 4756. These two skulls preserve the ®nest de- van Kampen (1905), who built primarily on tail that I have seen in any fossil rodent, and the ®ne German work in anatomy and de- their early Eocene age, approximately 51 mya velopment. Van der Klaauw (1931) made (million years ago), makes them important by fossil mammals a part of his monograph; he antiquity. The rodent branch of mammalian was able to take advantage of the descrip- phylogeny may have been separate already in tions and collections of fossils from the Asia in the early Paleocene (Heomys Li, American West that had accumulated since 1977); undisputed rodents are known from the the late 1800s. Recent publications provide late Paleocene: Alagomyidae in Asia and character analyses and detailed information North America and Ischyromyidae in North about early mammals (Wible, 1990; Rougier America. In North America, the appearance et al., 1992; Wible and Hopson, 1993; Wible of ischyromyid rodents de®nes the beginning et al., 1995; Rougier et al., 1996; McKenna of the Clarkforkian Mammal Age (Woodbur- et al., 2000) and insectivores (McDowell, ne, 1987: 61) about 56 mya (McKenna and 1958; Novacek, 1986). The pioneering com- Bell, 1997: ®g. 1). The early Eocene saw si- parative studies on rodent auditory regions multaneous diversi®cation of rodents in Asia, are relatively recent (Oaks, 1968; Parent, North America and Europe. My second pur- 1980; Lavocat and Parent, 1985). Many stud- pose is to compare the auditory region of Par- ies of living rodents have focused on taxa amys copei with an outgroup of thoroughly with in¯ated bullae (Webster, 1961, 1962, described and illustrated mammals including 1975; Pye, 1965; Webster and Webster, 1971, the early mammal Vincelestes, the marsupial 1975, 1977, 1984; Lay, 1972, 1993; Wahlert, Didelphis, and the insectivore Solenodon, and et al., 1993). Segall (1971) illustrated gliding with other Eocene rodents. My goals are to and non-gliding sciurids. Information is also describe character polarities as a starting point available about speci®c extinct taxa (Lavo- for comparison of rodent auditory regions and cat, 1967; Meng, 1990; Wahlert, 1974, 1977, to assess the relative primitiveness of Para- 1978, 1983; Carrasco and Wahlert, 1999). mys auditory morphology. The two specimens of Paramys copei were SPECIMENS EXAMINED collected by Jacob L. Wortman in 1880 for Edward D. Cope. Images of the skulls have Specimens are listed according to the been independently illustrated and published: classi®cation of McKenna and Bell (1997); Cope, 1884, pl. 24a, ®gs. 1, 1a, 2, 2a; Wood, generic assignments of paramyine species are 2000 WAHLERT: AUDITORY REGION IN PARAMYS COPEI 3 according to Korth (1984, 1985, and 1994). Suborder Sciuravida, Family Sciuravidae Abbreviations: AMNH, American Museum Sciuravus nitidus, AMNH 12531 and 12551, of Natural History; USNM, United States USNM 17683 and 22477, Blacks Fork Mem- National Museum of Natural History. ber, middle Eocene, Bridger Formation, Class Mammalia, Legion Cladotheria, Suble- Bridger Basin, Wyoming gion Zatheria, Family Vincelestidae Vincelestes neuquenianus La Amarga Forma- AUDITORY REGION OF tion, early Cretaceous, Southern NeuqueÂn PARAMYS COPEI Province, Argentina (information from Rougier et al., 1992) The late early Eocene species Paramys copei (AMNH 4755, 4756, and 103390) pre- Sublegion Zatheria, Supercohort Theria, Cohort serves the most ancient, complete example Marsupialia, Magnorder Ameridelphia, Order of auditory region morphology that is avail- Didelphimorphia, Family Didelphidae, Subfam- able for rodents. I describe it below as a stan- ily Didelphinae dard, and then note the differences of other Didelphis virginiana, AMNH 2070, Recent, no Eocene rodent taxa. The region is illustrated data. in slightly oblique ventral view in ®gures 1, Sublegion Zatheria, Supercohort Theria, Cohort 2, and 3. Placentalia, Magnorder Epitheria, Superorder In ventral view the junction of the petrosal Preptotheria, Grandorder Lipotyphla, Order with the basioccipital is oblique, and the ba- Soricomorpha sioccipital is widest posteriorly. The anterior Solenodon paradoxus, AMNH 28270, Recent, part of the basioccipital and adjacent basi- Haiti sphenoid appears swollen and may be pneu- Sublegion Zatheria, Supercohort Theria, Grandor- matized in the anterior portion. The posterior der Anagalida, Mirorder Simplicidentata, Order part is a ¯ange that ¯oors the ventral petrosal Rodentia. All specimens are of Eocene age. sinus. The posterior lacerate foramen is a len- ticular gap medial to the posterior part of the Suborder Sciuromorpha, Family Ischyromyidae, auditory chamber and situated between the Subfamily Paramyinae: petrosal and the occipital. A broad ascending Tribe Paramyini keel of the petrosal partly divides the anterior Paramys copei, AMNH 4755 (holotype) and part of the gap, which transmitted the sig- 4756; Lost Cabin Member, late early Eocene, moid sinus, from the posterior, for nerves IX, Wind River Formation, Wind River Basin, X, and XI. A prominent dimple in the petro- Wyoming; AMNH 103390, late early Eo- sal just anterior to the keel is the opening of cene, San Jose Formation, San Juan Basin, the cochlear canaliculus. A broad, covered New Mexico passage between the basioccipital and the pe- Paramys delicatus, AMNH 12506 and 13090, trosal may mark the course of the ventral (in- Blacks Fork Member, middle Eocene, Bridg- ferior) petrosal sinus. It opens just anterior to er Formation, Bridger Basin, Wyoming Notoparamys costilloi (type species) (5 Lep- the posterior lacerate foramen. The sigmoid totomus costilloi), AMNH 55110 and 55111 sinus and ventral petrosal sinus joined here (holotype), Lost Cabin Member equivalent to form the internal jugular vein. A deep, (Wind
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Impact of Locomotion on the Brain Evolution of Squirrels and Close Relatives ✉ Ornella C
    ARTICLE https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-01887-8 OPEN The impact of locomotion on the brain evolution of squirrels and close relatives ✉ Ornella C. Bertrand 1 , Hans P. Püschel 1, Julia A. Schwab 1, Mary T. Silcox 2 & Stephen L. Brusatte1 How do brain size and proportions relate to ecology and evolutionary history? Here, we use virtual endocasts from 38 extinct and extant rodent species spanning 50+ million years of evolution to assess the impact of locomotion, body mass, and phylogeny on the size of the brain, olfactory bulbs, petrosal lobules, and neocortex. We find that body mass and phylogeny are highly correlated with relative brain and brain component size, and that locomotion strongly influences brain, petrosal lobule, and neocortical sizes. Notably, species living in 1234567890():,; trees have greater relative overall brain, petrosal lobule, and neocortical sizes compared to other locomotor categories, especially fossorial taxa. Across millions of years of Eocene- Recent environmental change, arboreality played a major role in the early evolution of squirrels and closely related aplodontiids, promoting the expansion of the neocortex and petrosal lobules. Fossoriality in aplodontiids had an opposing effect by reducing the need for large brains. 1 School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. 2 Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Scarborough, ✉ Toronto, ON, Canada. email: [email protected] COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY | (2021) 4:460 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-01887-8 | www.nature.com/commsbio 1 ARTICLE COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-01887-8 hat ecological and evolutionary factors affect brain size striking differences between living sciurids and aplodontiids raise in mammals? Studies have assessed the impact of the question of how this modern rodent assemblage emerged.
    [Show full text]
  • Constraints on the Timescale of Animal Evolutionary History
    Palaeontologia Electronica palaeo-electronica.org Constraints on the timescale of animal evolutionary history Michael J. Benton, Philip C.J. Donoghue, Robert J. Asher, Matt Friedman, Thomas J. Near, and Jakob Vinther ABSTRACT Dating the tree of life is a core endeavor in evolutionary biology. Rates of evolution are fundamental to nearly every evolutionary model and process. Rates need dates. There is much debate on the most appropriate and reasonable ways in which to date the tree of life, and recent work has highlighted some confusions and complexities that can be avoided. Whether phylogenetic trees are dated after they have been estab- lished, or as part of the process of tree finding, practitioners need to know which cali- brations to use. We emphasize the importance of identifying crown (not stem) fossils, levels of confidence in their attribution to the crown, current chronostratigraphic preci- sion, the primacy of the host geological formation and asymmetric confidence intervals. Here we present calibrations for 88 key nodes across the phylogeny of animals, rang- ing from the root of Metazoa to the last common ancestor of Homo sapiens. Close attention to detail is constantly required: for example, the classic bird-mammal date (base of crown Amniota) has often been given as 310-315 Ma; the 2014 international time scale indicates a minimum age of 318 Ma. Michael J. Benton. School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, U.K. [email protected] Philip C.J. Donoghue. School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, U.K. [email protected] Robert J.
    [Show full text]
  • 8-2 Kihm 2011
    Paludicola 8(2):75-90 March 2011 © by the Rochester Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology RODENTS FROM THE CHADRONIAN (LATEST EOCENE) MEDICINE POLE HILLS LOCAL FAUNA, NORTH DAKOTA. PART 1. EUTYPOMYIDAE, CYLINDRODONTIDAE AND PIPESTONEOMYS Allen J. Kihm Department of Geosciences, Minot State University, 500 University Ave W, Minot, ND 58707 <[email protected]> ABSTRACT The Medicine Pole Hills local fauna is a large Chadronian fauna composed of more than 4600 mammal specimens, mostly isolated teeth, derived from a limited sequence of mudball conglomerates and sandstones. The producing layer probably represents an early stage of deposition of the Chadron Formation in North Dakota, but it may not be related to any of the named members of the formation. The material described includes Eutypomys parvus, Cylindrodon collinus, Pseudocylindrodon neglectus, Ardynomys saskatchewensis and Pipestoneomys sp. The samples of E. parvus and A. saskatchewensis include teeth not previously described for these taxa. The assemblage has the greatest commonality to the middle Chadronian Calf Creek local fauna of southern Saskatchewan. This similarity does not necessarily indicate a middle Chadronian age for the Medicine Pole Hills local fauna. The lack of late early Chadronian localities with large samples of rodents may exaggerate the apparent differences between these faunas and the Medicine Pole Hills sample. The Calf Creek and Medicine Pole Hills local faunas may represent an intermediate stage between the McCarty’s Mountain and Pipestone Springs faunas of Montana. The Medicine Pole Hills fauna may be somewhat older than the Calf Creek local fauna based on the occurrence of Leptomeryx yoderi. INTRODUCTION (Murphy et al., 1993), but continuing studies of the geology, particularly the heavy minerals, suggest this This is the third in a series of papers that describe correlation is poorly supported (Webster and Kihm, the mammals of the Medicine Pole Hills local fauna of 2009).
    [Show full text]
  • Novitatesamerican MUSEUM PUBLISHED by the AMERICAN MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST at 79TH STREET NEW YORK, N.Y
    NovitatesAMERICAN MUSEUM PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET NEW YORK, N.Y. 10024 U.S.A. NUMBER 2626 JUNE 30, 1977 JOHN H. WAHLERT Cranial Foramina and Relationships of Eutypomys (Rodentia, Eutypomyidae) AMERICAN MUSEUM Novitates PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10024 Number 2626, pp. 1-8, figs. 1-3, table 1 June 30, 1977 Cranial Foramina and Relationships of Eutypomys (Rodentia, Eutypomyidae) JOHN H. WAHLERT1 ABSTRACT Derived characters of the sphenopalatine, lies had common ancestry in a stem species from interorbital, and dorsal palatine foramina are which no other rodent groups are descended. The shared by the Eutypomyidae and Castoridae. two families may be included in a monophyletic These support the hypothesis that the two fami- superfamily, Castoroidea. INTRODUCTION Eutypomys is an extinct sciuromorphous gave more characters shared with castorids; he, rodent known in North America from strata that too, found many features in common with the range in age from latest Eocene to early Miocene. ischyromyoids. Wood noted the similarity of The genus was named by Matthew (1905) based molar crown pattern to that of Paramys and ex- on the species Eutypomys thomsoni. "Progres- plained it as a parallelism that possibly indicates sive" characters of the teeth and hind feet led relationship. Wilson (1949b) pointed out that the Matthew to ally it with the beaver family, Cas- dental pattern of Eutypomys is more like that of toridae. He pointed out that it retains many sciuravids than that of paramyids.
    [Show full text]
  • INSIGHTS INTO RELATIONSHIPS AMONG RODENT LINEAGES BASED on MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME SEQUENCE DATA a Dissertation by LAURENCE JOHN FR
    INSIGHTS INTO RELATIONSHIPS AMONG RODENT LINEAGES BASED ON MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME SEQUENCE DATA A Dissertation by LAURENCE JOHN FRABOTTA Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY December 2005 Major Subject: Zoology INSIGHTS INTO RELATIONSHIPS AMONG RODENT LINEAGES BASED ON MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME SEQUENCE DATA A Dissertation by LAURENCE JOHN FRABOTTA Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, Rodney L. Honeycutt Committee Members, James B. Woolley John W. Bickham James R. Manhart Head of Department, Vincent M. Cassone December 2005 Major Subject: Zoology iii ABSTRACT Insights into Relationships among Rodent Lineages Based on Mitochondrial Genome Sequence Data. (December 2005) Laurence John Frabotta, B.S.; M.S., California State University, Long Beach Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Rodney L. Honeycutt This dissertation has two major sections. In Chapter II, complete mitochondrial (mt DNA) genome sequences were used to construct a hypothesis for affinities of most major lineages of rodents that arose quickly in the Eocene and were well established by the end of the Oligocene. Determining the relationships among extant members of such old lineages can be difficult. Two traditional schemes on subordinal classification of rodents have persisted for over a century, dividing rodents into either two or three suborders, with relationships among families or superfamilies remaining problematic. The mtDNA sequences for four new rodent taxa (Aplodontia, Cratogeomys, Erethizon, and Hystrix), along with previously published Euarchontoglires taxa, were analyzed under parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian criteria.
    [Show full text]
  • Phylogeny and Biogeography of The
    J. Paleont., 78(4), 2004, pp. 731±740 Copyright q 2004, The Paleontological Society 0022-3360/04/0078-731$03.00 PHYLOGENY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE GENUS ANSOMYS QIU, 1987 (MAMMALIA: RODENTIA: APLODONTIDAE) AND DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES FROM THE BARSTOVIAN (MID-MIOCENE) OF MONTANA SAMANTHA S. B. HOPKINS Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley 94720, ,[email protected]. ABSTRACTÐNew aplodontid material recovered from Hepburn's Mesa, Montana, stimulated reexamination of Ansomys, a genus of aplodontid previously known only from Asia. A cladistic analysis of the known species of Ansomys, as well as new material from Hepburn's Mesa and a few other morphologically similar species, prompted reconstruction of the biogeographic history of the genus. One new species, A. hepburnensis, from the Barstovian of Montana, is described, and two other species, A. nexodens and A. descendens, are placed in Ansomys rather than in Pseudallomys and Plesispermophilus, respectively. Addition of these three species to Ansomys extends its distribution throughout the Holarctic in the mid-Miocene. Stratigraphic ranges combined with phylogenetic relationships between species suggest this wide distribution as early as the late Oligocene, which is unique among aplodontid genera. The distribution, the rarity, the unusually small size, and the complex cusp morphology of Ansomys suggest a very specialized ecology for members of this clade. INTRODUCTION Qiu and Sun (1988), Rensberger and Li (1986), and Schmidt- PLODONTOID RODENTS are abundant and diverse in Ol- Kittler and Vianey-Liaud (1979). All of the known species of A igocene and Miocene faunas of North America, although Ansomys are included, as well as Plesispermophilus? descendens they are represented today by a single living species, Aplodontia (Dehm, 1950), which was placed in the subfamily Ansomyinae rufa Ra®nesque, 1817, the mountain beaver or sewellel.
    [Show full text]
  • Aplodontid, Sciurid, Castorid, Zapodid and Geomyoid Rodents of the Rodent Hill Locality, Cypress Hills Formation, Southwest Saskatchewan
    APLODONTID, SCIURID, CASTORID, ZAPODID AND GEOMYOID RODENTS OF THE RODENT HILL LOCALITY, CYPRESS HILLS FORMATION, SOUTHWEST SASKATCHEWAN A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the Department of Geological Sciences University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By Sean D. Bell © Copyright Sean D. Bell, December 2004. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Master’s degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the libraries of the University of Saskatchewan may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department of Geological Sciences or the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of Geological Sciences 114 Science Place University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2 i ABSTRACT The Rodent Hill Locality is a fossil-bearing site that is part of the Cypress Hills Formation, and is located roughly 15 km northwest of the town of Eastend, Saskatchewan.
    [Show full text]
  • 2014BOYDANDWELSH.Pdf
    Proceedings of the 10th Conference on Fossil Resources Rapid City, SD May 2014 Dakoterra Vol. 6:124–147 ARTICLE DESCRIPTION OF AN EARLIEST ORELLAN FAUNA FROM BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK, INTERIOR, SOUTH DAKOTA AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE STRATIGRAPHIC POSITION OF THE BLOOM BASIN LIMESTONE BED CLINT A. BOYD1 AND ED WELSH2 1Department of Geology and Geologic Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701 U.S.A., [email protected]; 2Division of Resource Management, Badlands National Park, Interior, South Dakota 57750 U.S.A., [email protected] ABSTRACT—Three new vertebrate localities are reported from within the Bloom Basin of the North Unit of Badlands National Park, Interior, South Dakota. These sites were discovered during paleontological surveys and monitoring of the park’s boundary fence construction activities. This report focuses on a new fauna recovered from one of these localities (BADL-LOC-0293) that is designated the Bloom Basin local fauna. This locality is situated approximately three meters below the Bloom Basin limestone bed, a geographically restricted strati- graphic unit only present within the Bloom Basin. Previous researchers have placed the Bloom Basin limestone bed at the contact between the Chadron and Brule formations. Given the unconformity known to occur between these formations in South Dakota, the recovery of a Chadronian (Late Eocene) fauna was expected from this locality. However, detailed collection and examination of fossils from BADL-LOC-0293 reveals an abundance of specimens referable to the characteristic Orellan taxa Hypertragulus calcaratus and Leptomeryx evansi. This fauna also includes new records for the taxa Adjidaumo lophatus and Brachygaulus, a biostratigraphic verifica- tion for the biochronologically ambiguous taxon Megaleptictis, and the possible presence of new leporid and hypertragulid taxa.
    [Show full text]
  • A Note on the Origin of Rodents
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by American Museum of Natural History Scientific... PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK 24, N.Y. NUMBER 2037 JULY 7, I96I A Note on the Origin of Rodents BY MALCOLM C. MCKENNA Knowledge of Paleocene rodents is still restricted to a single species, Paramys atavus, from a single locality, the Eagle Coal Mine at Bear Creek, Montana. The age of this deposit is late Paleocene. Incisors of P. atavus were first described by Simpson (1928, p. 14), but were referred by him to the Multituberculata. Jepsen (1937) recognized the true affinities of the incisors and described a newly found lower molar. No additional material has been reported since 1937. The purpose of the present paper is to place on record the morphology of a recently identified upper cheek tooth of Paramys atavus and to discuss briefly its significance. I am in- debted to Drs. Albert E. Wood and Mary Dawson for helpful comments. Mr. Chester Tarka prepared the figure. ORDER RODENTIA FAMILY PARAMYIDAE GENUS PARAMYS LEIDY, 1871 Paramys atavusJepsen, 1937 MATERIAL: A.M.N.H. No. 22195 (fig. 1), a left P 4, M 1, or M 2, figured by Simpson (1929, p. 10, fig. 2). LOCALITY: Eagle Coal Mine, Bear Creek, Carbon County, Montana. FORMATION: Polecat Bench formation (Fort Union of the United States Geological Survey and others). AGE: Tiffanian (= approximately late, but not latest, Paleocene). DESCRIPTION: Small, tritubercular, rodent upper cheek tooth with 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO.
    [Show full text]
  • Phylogenetic Relationships and Divergence Times in Rodents Based on Both Genes and Fossils Ryan Norris University of Vermont
    University of Vermont ScholarWorks @ UVM Graduate College Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 2009 Phylogenetic Relationships and Divergence Times in Rodents Based on Both Genes and Fossils Ryan Norris University of Vermont Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis Recommended Citation Norris, Ryan, "Phylogenetic Relationships and Divergence Times in Rodents Based on Both Genes and Fossils" (2009). Graduate College Dissertations and Theses. 164. https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/164 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks @ UVM. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate College Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ UVM. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS AND DIVERGENCE TIMES IN RODENTS BASED ON BOTH GENES AND FOSSILS A Dissertation Presented by Ryan W. Norris to The Faculty of the Graduate College of The University of Vermont In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Specializing in Biology February, 2009 Accepted by the Faculty of the Graduate College, The University of Vermont, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, specializing in Biology. Dissertation ~xaminationCommittee: w %amB( Advisor 6.William ~il~atrickph.~. Duane A. Schlitter, Ph.D. Chairperson Vice President for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies Date: October 24, 2008 Abstract Molecular and paleontological approaches have produced extremely different estimates for divergence times among orders of placental mammals and within rodents with molecular studies suggesting a much older date than fossils. We evaluated the conflict between the fossil record and molecular data and find a significant correlation between dates estimated by fossils and relative branch lengths, suggesting that molecular data agree with the fossil record regarding divergence times in rodents.
    [Show full text]
  • Marivaux-Et-Al-2021-Papers-In
    An unpredicted ancient colonization of the West Indies by North American rodents: dental evidence of a geomorph from the early Oligocene of Puerto Rico Laurent Marivaux, Jorge Vélez-Juarbe, Lázaro Viñola López, Pierre-Henri Fabre, François Pujos, Hernán Santos- Mercado, Eduardo Cruz, Alexandra Grajales Pérez, James Padilla, Kevin Vélez-Rosado, et al. To cite this version: Laurent Marivaux, Jorge Vélez-Juarbe, Lázaro Viñola López, Pierre-Henri Fabre, François Pujos, et al.. An unpredicted ancient colonization of the West Indies by North American rodents: dental evidence of a geomorph from the early Oligocene of Puerto Rico. Papers in Palaeontology, Wiley, 2021, 10.1002/spp2.1388. hal-03289701 HAL Id: hal-03289701 https://hal.umontpellier.fr/hal-03289701 Submitted on 18 Jul 2021 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Papers in Palaeontology (https://doi.org/10.1002/spp2.1388) AN UNPREDICTED ANCIENT COLONIZATION OF THE WEST INDIES BY NORTH AMERICAN RODENTS: DENTAL EVIDENCE OF A GEOMORPH FROM THE EARLY OLIGOCENE OF PUERTO RICO by LAURENT MARIVAUX1,*, JORGE VÉLEZ-JUARBE2, LÁZARO W. VIÑOLA LÓPEZ3, PIERRE-HENRI FABRE1,4, FRANÇOIS PUJOS5, HERNÁN SANTOS- MERCADO6, EDUARDO J. CRUZ6, ALEXANDRA M.
    [Show full text]
  • Qt6946n7r3.Pdf
    UC Berkeley PaleoBios Title Early Eocene (Wasatchian) rodent assemblages from the Washakie Basin, Wyoming Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6946n7r3 Journal PaleoBios, 33(0) ISSN 0031-0298 Authors Strait, Suzanne G. Holroyd, Patricia A. Denvir, Carrie A. et al. Publication Date 2016-02-08 DOI 10.5070/P9331029986 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California PaleoBios 33:1–28, February 8, 2016 PaleoBios OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA MUSEUM OF PALEONTOLOGY Suzanne G. Strait, Patricia A. Holroyd, Carrie A. Denvir and Brian D. Rankin (2016). Early Eocene (Wasatchian) rodent assemblages from the Washakie Basin, Wyoming. Cover photo: Howard Hutchison excavating at V71237 (Lower Meniscotherium) during July 1971. Polaroid image from field notes of Barbara T. Waters, on file at UCMP. Citation: Strait, S. G., Holroyd, P. A., Denvir, C. A. & Rankin, B. D. 2016. Early Eocene (Wasatchian) rodent assemblages from the Washakie Basin, Wyoming. PaleoBios, 33(1). ucmp_paleobios_29986. PaleoBios 33:1–28, February 8, 2016 Early Eocene (Wasatchian) rodent assemblages from the Washakie Basin, Wyoming SUZANNE G. STRAIT1, PATRICIA A. HOLROYD2*, CARRIE A. DENVIR1 and BRIAN D. RANKIN2 1Department of Biological Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia 25755 U.S.A. 2University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley, California 94720 U.S.A. Rodent assemblages are described from two early Eocene (Wasatchian North American Land Mammal Age; Graybul- lian subage) localities from the Main Body of the Wasatch Formation in the Washakie Basin, Wyoming. One locality (UCMP V71237) represents a catastrophic death assemblage and the other (UCMP V71238) is a channel lag which immediately overlies it.
    [Show full text]