DOCSLIB.ORG

A Classification of Recent Mammals

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Classification of Recent Mammals A CLASSIFICATION OF RECENT MAMMALS ClassifiCation Common name(s) ClassifiCation Common name(s) subclass Prototheria Order Scandentia (20 species) Order Monotremata (5 species) Family Tupaiidae...................Tree shrews Family Tachyglossidae ...........Echidnas, spiny anteaters Ptilocercidae ..................Pen-tailed tree shrew Ornithorhynchidae .........Duck-billed platypus Order Dermoptera (2 species) subclass theria Family Cynocephalidae .........Colugos Infraclass Metatheria (Marsupialia) Order Primates (376 species) Order Didelphimorphia (87 species) Family Cheirogaleidae ...........Dwarf lemurs Family Didelphidae ..............Opossums Lemuridae......................Lemurs Order Paucituberculata (6 species) Lepilemuridae ................Sportive lemurs Family Caenolestidae ............Rat opossums Indriidae ........................Wooly lemurs, sifakas, indri Order Microbiotheria (1 species) Daubentoniidae .............Aye-aye Family Microbiotheriidae ......Monito del monte, llaca Lorisidae ........................Lorises, pottos Order Notoryctemorphia (2 species) Galagidae .......................Bushbabies, Galagos Family Notoryctidae .............Marsupial “mole” Tarsiidae .........................Tarsiers Order Dasyuromorphia (71 species) Cebidae .........................New World monkeys Family Thylacinidae ..............Thylacine (extinct) Aotidae ..........................Night monkeys Myrmecobiidae ..............Numbat Pitheciidae .....................Titi, uracari, saki monkeys Dasyuridae .....................Dasyures, quolls, Atelidae ..........................Howler, spider, wooly antechinuses, dunnarts, monkeys Tasmanian devil Cercopithecidae .............Old World monkeys, Order Peramelemorphia (21 species) baboons Family Thylacomyidae ..........Bilbys Hylobatidae ...................Gibbons, Siamang Chaeropodidae ...............Pig-footed Bandicoot Hominidae .....................Gorilla, chimpanzees, Peramelidae ....................Bandicoots orangutans Order Diprotodontia (143 species) Order Rodentia (2277 species) Family Phascolarctidae ..........Koala Family Aplodontiidae ...........Mountain beaver Vombatidae ....................Wombats Sciuridae ........................Squirrels Phalangeridae .................Cuscuses, phalangers Gliridae ..........................Dormice Burramyidae ...................Pygmy possums Castoridae ......................Beavers Pseudocheiridae .............Ringtailed possums Geomyidae .....................Pocket gophers Petauridae ......................Gliders, striped possums Heteromyidae ................Kangaroo rats, pocket mice Tarsipedidae ...................Honey possum, noolbenger Dipodidae ......................Jumping mice, jerboas Acrobatidae ....................Feathertail possum, Platacanthomyidae .........Tree mice feathertail glider Spalacidae ......................Zokors, bamboo rats, mole Hypsiprymnodontidae ...Musky-rat kangaroo rats Potoroidae ......................Rat kangaroos, bettongs Calomyscidae .................Calomyscus Macropodidae ................Kangaroos, wallabies Nesomyidae ...................Pouched rats, climbing mice, Infraclass Eutheria (Placentalia) swamp mouse, fat mice, Order Afrosoricida (51 species) Malagasy rats, mice Family Tenrecidae .................Tenrecs, otter shrews Cricetidae ......................Voles, lemmings, other New Chrysochloridae .............Golden moles World Rats, mice Order Macroscelidea (15 species) Muridae .........................Old world rats, mice Family Macroscelididae .........Elephant shrews Anomaluridae ................Scaly-tailed flying squirrels Order Tubulidentata (1 species) Pedetidae .......................Springhaas, springhare Family Orycteropodidae .......Aardvark Ctenodactylidae .............Gundis Order Hyracoidea (4 species) Bathyergidae ..................Mole-rats Family Procaviidae ................Hyraxes Hystricidae .....................Old World porcupines Order Proboscidea (3 species) Petromuridae..................Dassie rat Family Elephantidae .............Elephants Thryonomyidae ..............Cane rats Order Sirenia (5 species) Erethizontidae ................New World porcupines Family Dugongidae ...............Dugongs, sea cows Chinchillidae .................Chinchillas, vizcachas Trichechidae ...................Manatees Dinomyidae ...................Pacarana Order Cingulata (21 species) Caviidae .........................Capybara, cavies, maras, Family Dasypodidae .............Armadillos Guinea pigs Order Pilosa (10 species) Dasyproctidae ................Agoutis, acouchis Family Bradypodidae ............Three-toed tree sloths Cuniculidae ...................Pacas Megalonychidae .............Two-toed tree sloths Ctenomyidae..................Tuco-tucos Cyclopedidae .................Silky anteater Octodontidae .................Degus, rock rats, Myrmecophagidae ..........Giant anteater, tamanduas viscacha-rats Continued on the inside back cover A CLASSIFICATION OF RECENT MAMMALS Continued from inside front cover ClassifiCation Common name(s) ClassifiCation Common name(s) Order Rodentia (2277 species) continued... Order Perissodactyla (17 species) Abrocomidae .................Chinchilla rats Family Equidae.....................Horses, asses, zebras Echimyidae ....................Spiny rats, bamboo rats, Tapiridae ........................Tapirs tree-rats Rhinocerotidae ...............Rhinoceroses Capromyidae..................Hutias Order Artiodactyla (240 species) Heptaxodontidae............Hutias (extinct) Family Suidae .......................Swine Myocastoridae ................Coypu Tayassuidae ....................Peccaries, javelinas Order Lagomorpha (92 species) Hippopotamidae ............Hippopotami Family Ochotonidae .............Pikas Camelidae ......................Camels, llamas Leporidae .......................Rabbits, hares Tragulidae ......................Chevrotains Order Erinaceomorpha (24 speceis) Moschidae .....................Musk deer Family Erinaceidae ...............Hedgehogs Cervidae ........................Deer Order Soricomorpha (428 species) Antilocapridae ................Pronghorns Family Nesophontidae ..........Nesophontes (extinct) Giraffidae .......................Giraffe, okapi Solenodontidae ..............Solenodons Bovidae ..........................Antelope, bison, cattle, goats, Soricidae ........................Shrews sheep, etc. Talpidae .........................Moles Order Cetacea (84 species) Order Chiroptera (1116 species) Family Balaenidae .................Right whales Family Pteropodidae .............Old World fruit bats, Balaenopteridae ..............Rorquals flying foxes Eschrichtiidae ................Gray whale Rhinolophidae ...............Horseshoe bats Neobalaenidae ...............Pygmy right whale Hipposideridae ...............African leaf-nosed bats Delphinidae ...................Ocean dolphins Megadermatidae .............False vampire bats Monodontidae ...............Narwhal, beluga Rhinopomatidae .............Mouse-tailed bats Phocoenidae ..................Porpoises Craseonycteridae ............Kitti’s hog-nosed bat Physeteridae ...................Sperm whales Emballonuridae ..............Sac-winged bats Platanistidae ...................Ganges and Indus river Nycteridae .....................Hollow-faced bats, dolphins slit-faced bats Iniidae ...........................Baiji, Franciscana, Amazon Myzopodidae .................Sucker-footed bat river dolphin Mystacinidae ..................Short-tailed bats Ziphiidae ........................Beaked whales Phyllostomidae...............Leaf-nosed bats Mormoopidae ................Mustached bats Noctilionidae .................Bulldog bats Furipteridae ...................Smoky bats Thyropteridae.................Disk-winged bats Natalidae .......................Funnel-eared bats Molossidae .....................Free-tailed bats Vespertilionidae ..............Evening bats, common bats Order Pholidota (8 species) Family Manidae ..............Pangolins Order Carnivora (286 species) Family Felidae ......................Cats Viverridae .......................Civets, linsangs, genets Eupleridae .....................Malagasy civets and mongooses Nandiniidae ...................African palm civet Herpestidae ....................Mongooses, meerkat Hyaenidae ......................Hyenas, aardwolf Canidae .........................Wolves, foxes, jackals Ursidae ..........................Bears, giant panda Otariidae ........................Eared seals, fur seals, sea lions Odobenidae ...................Walrus Phocidae ........................Earless seals Mustelidae .....................Weasels, badgers, otters Mephitidae.....................Skunks Procyonidae ...................Raccoons, ringtail cats, coatis Ailuridae ........................Red panda.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Blind Mole Rat (Spalax Leucodon) Masseter Muscle: Structure, Homology, Diversification and Nomenclature A
    Folia Morphol. Vol. 78, No. 2, pp. 419–424 DOI: 10.5603/FM.a2018.0097 O R I G I N A L A R T I C L E Copyright © 2019 Via Medica ISSN 0015–5659 journals.viamedica.pl Blind mole rat (Spalax leucodon) masseter muscle: structure, homology, diversification and nomenclature A. Yoldas1, M. Demir1, R. İlgun2, M.O. Dayan3 1Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Kahramanmaras University, Kahramanmaras, Turkey 2Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aksaray University, Aksaray, Turkey 3Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey [Received: 10 July 2018; Accepted: 23 September 2018] Background: It is well known that rodents are defined by a unique masticatory apparatus. The present study describes the design and structure of the masseter muscle of the blind mole rat (Spalax leucodon). The blind mole rat, which emer- ged 5.3–3.4 million years ago during the Late Pliocene period, is a subterranean, hypoxia-tolerant and cancer-resistant rodent. Yet, despite these impressive cha- racteristics, no information exists on their masticatory musculature. Materials and methods: Fifteen adult blind mole rats were used in this study. Dissections were performed to investigate the anatomical characteristics of the masseter muscle. Results: The muscle was comprised of three different parts: the superficial mas- seter, the deep masseter and the zygomaticomandibularis muscle. The superficial masseter originated from the facial fossa at the ventral side of the infraorbital foramen. The deep masseter was separated into anterior and posterior parts. The anterior part of the zygomaticomandibularis muscle arose from the snout and passed through the infraorbital foramen to connect on the mandible.
    [Show full text]
  • Classification of Mammals 61
    © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FORCHAPTER SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION Classification © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC 4 NOT FORof SALE MammalsOR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION. 2ND PAGES 9781284032093_CH04_0060.indd 60 8/28/13 12:08 PM CHAPTER 4: Classification of Mammals 61 © Jones Despite& Bartlett their Learning,remarkable success, LLC mammals are much less© Jones stress & onBartlett the taxonomic Learning, aspect LLCof mammalogy, but rather as diverse than are most invertebrate groups. This is probably an attempt to provide students with sufficient information NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION NOT FORattributable SALE OR to theirDISTRIBUTION far greater individual size, to the high on the various kinds of mammals to make the subsequent energy requirements of endothermy, and thus to the inabil- discussions of mammalian biology meaningful.
    [Show full text]
  • Genetic Structure of the North American Porcupine (Erethizon Dorsatum) Across Western Texas
    GENETIC STRUCTURE OF THE NORTH AMERICAN PORCUPINE (ERETHIZON DORSATUM) ACROSS WESTERN TEXAS by Erica D. Thomas A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF SCIENCE Major Subject: Biology West Texas A&M University Canyon, Texas December 2017 Approved: Rocky Ward, PhD Date Chairman, Thesis Committee W. David Sissom, PhD Date Member, Thesis Committee William P. Johnson, M.S. Date Member, Thesis Committee W. David Sissom, PhD Date Department Head Dean, Academic College Date Angela N. Spaulding Date Dean, Graduate School ii ABSTRACT The North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) is a highly mobile, generalist species with an extensive geographical distribution in North America. The porcupine was first documented in southwestern Texas in the early 20th century, but today occurs in most of the western two-thirds of the state. This species is relatively unstudied within the Great Plains ecoregion of North America, with no genetic studies having been conducted for this species in Texas. The objectives of this study were to describe population genetic metrics of porcupines across 3 ecoregions in western Texas by examining variation in 17 polymorphic microsatellites, and to confirm the applicability of the zinc finger protein sequencing method to identify sex in a population of North American porcupines. Tissue samples from 106 porcupines were collected from the High Plains, Rolling Plains, and Edwards Plateau ecoregions of western Texas. Sex was accurately identified for 92 porcupine tissue samples by directly sequencing a short portion (195 base pairs) of the zinc finger protein gene. Sixteen base pair substitutions between Zfx and Zfy chromosomes denoted the sex of individuals; heterozygous sequence for males (Zfx and Zfy), homozygous sequence for females (Zfx only).
    [Show full text]
  • The Beaver's Phylogenetic Lineage Illuminated by Retroposon Reads
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN The Beaver’s Phylogenetic Lineage Illuminated by Retroposon Reads Liliya Doronina1,*, Andreas Matzke1,*, Gennady Churakov1,2, Monika Stoll3, Andreas Huge3 & Jürgen Schmitz1 Received: 13 October 2016 Solving problematic phylogenetic relationships often requires high quality genome data. However, Accepted: 25 January 2017 for many organisms such data are still not available. Among rodents, the phylogenetic position of the Published: 03 March 2017 beaver has always attracted special interest. The arrangement of the beaver’s masseter (jaw-closer) muscle once suggested a strong affinity to some sciurid rodents (e.g., squirrels), placing them in the Sciuromorpha suborder. Modern molecular data, however, suggested a closer relationship of beaver to the representatives of the mouse-related clade, but significant data from virtually homoplasy- free markers (for example retroposon insertions) for the exact position of the beaver have not been available. We derived a gross genome assembly from deposited genomic Illumina paired-end reads and extracted thousands of potential phylogenetically informative retroposon markers using the new bioinformatics coordinate extractor fastCOEX, enabling us to evaluate different hypotheses for the phylogenetic position of the beaver. Comparative results provided significant support for a clear relationship between beavers (Castoridae) and kangaroo rat-related species (Geomyoidea) (p < 0.0015, six markers, no conflicting data) within a significantly supported mouse-related clade (including Myodonta, Anomaluromorpha, and Castorimorpha) (p < 0.0015, six markers, no conflicting data). Most of an organism’s phylogenetic history is fossilized in their heritable genomic material. Using data from genome sequencing projects, particularly informative regions of this material can be extracted in sufficient num- bers to resolve the deepest history of speciation.
    [Show full text]
  • TAXONOMIC STUDIES from RODENT OUTBREAK AREAS in the CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS Nikhil
    Bangladesh J. Zool. 46(2): 217-230, 2018 ISSN: 0304-9027 (print) 2408-8455 (online) NEW RECORDS OF RODENT SPECIES IN BANGLADESH: TAXONOMIC STUDIES FROM RODENT OUTBREAK AREAS IN THE CHITTAGONG HILL TRACTS Nikhil Chakma*, Noor Jahan Sarker, Steven Belmain1, Sohrab Uddin Sarker, Ken Aplin2 and Sontosh Kumar Sarker3 Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh Abstract: Rodents are regarded as crop pests, significant reservoirs and vectors for many zoonotic diseases around the world. Basic taxonomic information of rodents present in a locality can help understand which species are responsible as crop pest in that habitat. The phenomenon of the 50-year cycle of gregarious bamboo flowering and rodent outbreaks in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh, rodents trapping were carried out in four habitats from March, 2009 to December, 2011 in Ruma upazila of Bandarban hill district. Variety of traps were used to capture small mammals. The captured species were measured and identified using taxonomical dichotomous keys and DNA bar-coding performed in Australia. A total of 14 different small mammalian species were captured of which nine belonging to the Muridae family, and one species each of Spalacidae, Sciuridae, Tupaiidae and Soricidae families. The dominant small mammal species captured were Rattus rattus (54.06%) followed by Mus musculus (26.39%), Rattus nitidus (10.98%), Suncus murinus (5.45%), Mus terricolor (1.09%), Mus cookii nagarum (0.97%), Cannomys badius (0.16%), Leopoldamys edwardsi (0.12%), Berylmys bowersi (0.12%), Vernaya fulva (0.08%), Rattus andamanensis (0.08%), Tupaia glis (0.04%) and Callosciurus pygerythrus (0.04%).
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded from Ensembl (Www
    Lin et al. BMC Genomics 2014, 15:32 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/15/32 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Transcriptome sequencing and phylogenomic resolution within Spalacidae (Rodentia) Gong-Hua Lin1, Kun Wang2, Xiao-Gong Deng1,3, Eviatar Nevo4, Fang Zhao1, Jian-Ping Su1, Song-Chang Guo1, Tong-Zuo Zhang1* and Huabin Zhao5* Abstract Background: Subterranean mammals have been of great interest for evolutionary biologists because of their highly specialized traits for the life underground. Owing to the convergence of morphological traits and the incongruence of molecular evidence, the phylogenetic relationships among three subfamilies Myospalacinae (zokors), Spalacinae (blind mole rats) and Rhizomyinae (bamboo rats) within the family Spalacidae remain unresolved. Here, we performed de novo transcriptome sequencing of four RNA-seq libraries prepared from brain and liver tissues of a plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi) and a hoary bamboo rat (Rhizomys pruinosus), and analyzed the transcriptome sequences alongside a published transcriptome of the Middle East blind mole rat (Spalax galili). We characterize the transcriptome assemblies of the two spalacids, and recover the phylogeny of the three subfamilies using a phylogenomic approach. Results: Approximately 50.3 million clean reads from the zokor and 140.8 million clean reads from the bamboo ratwere generated by Illumina paired-end RNA-seq technology. All clean reads were assembled into 138,872 (the zokor) and 157,167 (the bamboo rat) unigenes, which were annotated by the public databases: the Swiss-prot, Trembl, NCBI non-redundant protein (NR), NCBI nucleotide sequence (NT), Gene Ontology (GO), Cluster of Orthologous Groups (COG), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG).
    [Show full text]
  • Tentative Syllabus
    EEB 451 Biology of Mammals - Winter 2016 Instructor - Professor Priscilla Tucker 3036 Museums Building [email protected] GSI – Lisa Walsh 3091 Museums Building [email protected] Tentative Lecture Syllabus 4151 USB Tuesday/Thursday 1:00-2:30 Jan. 7 Introduction to course 12 Introduction to mammals, origins, phylogeny - Chapters 1 and 2 in Vaughan et al. 2015 14 Introduction to mammals, origins, characteristics - Chapter 3 19 physiology, body size (activity: body size and the cost of being small) - Chapter 21 21 Monotremata and Metatheria – Chapters 5 and 6 26 Metatheria cont., marsupial reproduction – Chapters 6 and 20 28 Soricomorpha, Erinaceomorpha - Chapter 14 Feb. 2 Guest Lecturer 4 Afrotheria- Afrosoricida, Macroscelidea, Tubulidentata, Paenungulata - Chapters 8 and 9 9 Xenarthra - Pilosa, Cingulata - Chapter 10 11 Chiroptera - Chapter 15 16 Chiroptera; echolocation and other sensory systems - Chapter 22 18 Mammalian Reproduction – Chapter 28 23 Cetartiodactyla, Perissodactyla - Chapters 17 and 18 25 Cetartiodactyla continued - Chapter 20 Midterm Break Mar. 8 Carnivora I - Chapter 16 10 Carnivora II - Chapter 16 15 Carnivora III, Pholidota – Chapters 16 and 10, page 150 17 Dermoptera, Scandentia, Primates I - Chapters 11 and 12 22 Primates II - Chapter 12 24 Rodentia I- Chapter 13 29 Rodentia II - Chapter 13 31 Rodentia III and Lagomorpha - Chapter 13 Apr. 5 Conservation Concerns/Zoonoses- Chapter 26 and 28 7 Guest Lecture – Prof. Geoff Gerstner 12 Term Project Presentations 14 Term Project Presentations Grades: Lab quizzes (10) 300 mid-term exam 100 final exam 100 term project 100 total 600 Course Goals You will have the opportunity to see and learn about a large number of groups of mammals, including around 100 families, and you will also be learning to recognize around 65 species of mammals that are found in Michigan.
    [Show full text]
  • 0 Introduction
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-78117-6 - Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America, Volume 2: Small Mammals, Xenarthrans, and Marine Mammals Christine M. Janis, Gregg F. Gunnell and Mark D. Uhen Excerpt More information 0 Introduction christine m. janis,1 gregg f. gunnell2 and mark d. uhen3 1Brown University, Providence, RI, USA 2Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA 3Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA AIMS OF VOLUME 2 the chapter are presented according to a standardized format, and the institutional abbreviations have also been standardized and are This enterprise was originally conceived of as a single volume. How- listed in an appendix (Appendix III). ever, after a span of 10 years from its original conception, the current senior editor (Christine Janis), and the then junior editors (Kathleen Scott and Louis Jacobs) realized that it would be more realistic THE STANDARDIZED LAYOUT OF EACH CHAPTER to proceed with chapters then in hand, which could more or less be assembled into the conceptually useful, if taxonomically para- The chapters are laid out in a similar fashion to those in Volume 1. phyletic, rubric of “Terrestrial Carnivores and Ungulates” (Janis, The contributors were requested to adhere to a common layout for Scott, and Jacobs, 1998). This in part reflected the chapters that had each chapter, in order to provide uniform information throughout been assembled to date, although it should be noted that some of the book. The “Introduction” for each chapter introduces the group. the chapters in this current volume, most notably those by Darryl The “Defining features” section lays out the basic cranial, dental, Domning on sirenians and desmostylians, were among the first ones and postcranial features of the taxon.
    [Show full text]
  • Rock Hyraxes (Procavia Capensis) and Their Environments
    Rock Hyraxes (Procavia capensis) and Their Environments: 13 15 δ Ccollagen and δ Ncollagen as environmental indicators Lesa la Grange Supervised by Dr Deano Stynder and Prof Judith Sealy University of Cape Town Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Archaeology Department of Archaeology University of Cape Town 20 July 2015 The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town Abstract Rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis) are a common component of faunal assemblages at South African archaeological sites. Previous studies have focused on their remains as proxies for aspects of diet and mobility in prehistoric human populations. They have also been recognized as valuable palaeoenvironmental indicators due to the fact that their stratified communal middens record shifts in stable isotopes, palynology, and molecular biomarkers that appear to reflect environmental change. Previous studies conducted in east Africa have concluded that rock hyraxes are preferential grazers. There is comparatively little evidence, however, for the dietary preference of South African rock hyraxes, although it has been suggested that they consume more browse. This research aims to quantify the carbon isotopic ratios in their bone collagen to reconstruct diet. Results support preferential browsing in South African rock hyraxes, with a mean δ13C value for all animals in this study of -20.3 ± 1.9‰ (n = 210) indicating a C3 dietary contribution of 73.4 ± 13.3%.
    [Show full text]
  • The Largest Fossil Rodent Andre´S Rinderknecht1 and R
    Proc. R. Soc. B doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1645 Published online The largest fossil rodent Andre´s Rinderknecht1 and R. Ernesto Blanco2,* 1Museo Nacional de Historia Natural y Antropologı´a, Montevideo 11300, Uruguay 2Facultad de Ingenierı´a, Instituto de Fı´sica, Julio Herrera y Reissig 565, Montevideo 11300, Uruguay The discovery of an exceptionally well-preserved skull permits the description of the new South American fossil species of the rodent, Josephoartigasia monesi sp. nov. (family: Dinomyidae; Rodentia: Hystricognathi: Caviomorpha). This species with estimated body mass of nearly 1000 kg is the largest yet recorded. The skull sheds new light on the anatomy of the extinct giant rodents of the Dinomyidae, which are known mostly from isolated teeth and incomplete mandible remains. The fossil derives from San Jose´ Formation, Uruguay, usually assigned to the Pliocene–Pleistocene (4–2 Myr ago), and the proposed palaeoenviron- ment where this rodent lived was characterized as an estuarine or deltaic system with forest communities. Keywords: giant rodents; Dinomyidae; megamammals 1. INTRODUCTION 3. HOLOTYPE The order Rodentia is the most abundant group of living MNHN 921 (figures 1 and 2; Museo Nacional de Historia mammals with nearly 40% of the total number of Natural y Antropologı´a, Montevideo, Uruguay): almost mammalian species recorded (McKenna & Bell 1997; complete skull without left zygomatic arch, right incisor, Wilson & Reeder 2005). In general, rodents have left M2 and right P4-M1. body masses smaller than 1 kg with few exceptions. The largest living rodent, the carpincho or capybara 4. AGE AND LOCALITY (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), which lives in the Neotro- Uruguay, Departament of San Jose´, coast of Rı´odeLa pical region of South America, has a body mass of Plata, ‘Kiyu´’ beach (348440 S–568500 W).
    [Show full text]
  • Fossil Calibration Schemes the Soft Explosive Model Of
    Supplemental File 2: Fossil calibration schemes The soft explosive model of placental mammal evolution Matthew J. Phillips*,1 and Carmelo Fruciano1 1School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia *Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected] Contents Fossil Calibration schemes ......................................................................................................... 1 Table S2 .................................................................................................................................. 1 New calibrations ..................................................................................................................... 3 Figure S2 ................................................................................................................................ 7 References ............................................................................................................................ 10 Calibration schemes Table S2. Soft-bound calibrations employed for the MCMCtree analyses of the 122-taxon, 128- taxon, and 57-taxon empirical datasets. Calibrations among placental mammals are largely based on dos Reis et al. [1], hence the designations dR32 and dR40 (numbers indicating the number of calibrations). Several new calibrations, including some inspired by Springer et al. [2], are described below the table. Also note that the 122-taxon dR40, 128-taxon and 57-taxon analyses employ bounds as listed below, whereas the dR32 analyses,
    [Show full text]
  • Eutheria (Placental Mammals)
    Eutheria (Placental Introductory article Mammals) Article Contents . Introduction J David Archibald, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA . Basic Design . Taxonomic and Ecological Diversity Eutheria includes one of three major clades of mammals, the extant members of which are . Fossil History and Distribution referred to as placentals. Phylogeny Introduction have supernumerary teeth (e.g. some whales, armadillos, Eutheria (or Placentalia) is the most taxonomically diverse etc.), in extant placentals the number of teeth is at most of three branches or clades of mammals, the other two three upper and lower incisors, one upper and lower being Metatheria (or Marsupialia) and Prototheria (or canine, four upper and lower premolars, and three upper Monotremata). When named by Gill in 1872, Eutheria and lower molars. Except for one fewer upper molar, a included both marsupials and placentals. It was Huxley in domestic dog retains this pattern. Compared to reptiles, 1880 that recognized Eutheria basically as used today to mammals have fewer skull bones through fusion and loss, include only placentals. McKenna and Bell in their although bones are variously emphasized in each of the Classification of Mammals, published in 1997, chose to three major mammalian taxa. use Placentalia rather than Eutheria to avoid the confusion Physiologically, mammals are all endotherms of varying of what taxa should be included in Eutheria. Others such as degrees of efficiency. They are also homeothermic with a Rougier have used Eutheria and Placentalia in the sense relatively high resting temperature. These characteristics used here. Placentalia includes all extant placentals and are also found in birds, but because of anatomical their most recent common ancestor.
    [Show full text]