Novitatesamerican MUSEUM PUBLISHED by the AMERICAN MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST at 79TH STREET NEW YORK, N.Y
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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. He remarked primitive features in common with the early that "The presence of Eutypomys in the fossil ischyromyoid rodents and lacks the postorbital record, with its mingling of sciurid and castorid process, a derived character of the Sciuridae. Mil- features in both skull and skeleton, is perhaps an ler and Gidley (1918) remarked on dental simi- additional reason to those usually given for re- larities of Eutypomys with the Eomyidae, an garding the beavers and squirrels as related, al- extinct group now believed to be allied to the though it must be held in mind that many of Geomyoidea. Schaub (1958) agreed with this those features are primitive, retained in varying view and disagreed with the relationship to bea- degree by the later sciuromorphs" (ibid., p. 109). vers. Stirton (1935) did not include Eutypomys Within the last 15 years, new specimens have in his study of Tertiary beavers, but he showed been described and new species named: Wood the genus in his phylogeny (ibid., chart 2) as re- and Konizeski (1965); J. R. Macdonald (1970); lated to the Mylagaulidae. Wood (1937) rede- L. J. Macdonald (1972); Russell (1972); and scribed Matthew's type specimen in detail and Wood (1974a). Wood and Konizeski (1965) dis- 'Curatorial Assistant, Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, the American Museum of Natural History. Copyright n The American Museum of Natural History 1977 USSN 0003-0082 / Price 75 cents 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 2626 cussed the proposed relationships ofEutypomys. taxa as given in Wood's 1955 classification of the They said that "In view of how little is known Rodentia. about Eutypomys, either as to its ancestry or as I am grateful to Prof. T. Mylan Stout for shar- to the evolutionary trends within the genus, it is ing his unpublished information and ideas on difficult to separate primitive from specialized beaver relationships, to Drs. Richard H. Tedford features" (ibid., p. 495). They interpreted the and Eugene S. Gaffney for useful criticism of the absence of an ectolophid on the lower cheek manuscript, and to Mrs. Katherine H. Wahlert for teeth, the major difference from the crown pat- accommodating my irregular research schedule. tern of Paramys (Wood, 1937), to be a derived character. They favored castorid affinity. Wood CRANIAL FORAMINA (1974a), on the basis of new specimens of greater OF EUTYPOMYS THOMSONI age than those previously known, proposed that eutypomyids and castorids are independently Specimens. Abbreviations of specimen com- derived, and that eutypomyids are related to the pleteness: c, cranium; n, snout; o, orbit; p, pal- late Eocene genus Janimus, which Dawson ate; s, entire skull; t, pterygoid region. The (1966) named and described as a probable micro- American Museum of Natural History: AMNH paramyine descendant. Excellent figures of the 1423 pot, Cheyenne River, Big Badlands, S.D.; dentitions of Eutypomys specimens may be AMNH 12254 type npoc, Quinn Draw, Shannon found in the papers cited above; the most de- Co., S.D.; AMNH 98531 potc, Roberts Draw, tailed, recent discussion of crown pattern is pre- Sioux Co., Nebr.; F:AM (Frick: American Mam- sented by Wood (1974a). mals) 64002 npo, Cottonwood Pass, Shannon Wahlert (1972) compared the cranial foramina Co., S.D.; F:AM 65296 s, 1.5 miles south of Cot- of protrogomorphous and sciuromorphous ro- tonwood Pass, Shannon Co., S.D.; F:AM 65297 dents and found evidence to support relationship npo, 7 miles south of South Heart, Stark Co., between the Eutypomyidae and Castoridae. In N.D. Carnegie Museum: CM 9839 npo, Little his detailed study of castorid dentitions, T. M. Badlands, Stark Co., N.D. Field Museum of Stout (personal commun.), favored inclusion of Natural History: FMNH, UM 1492 np, east of the Eutypomyinae as a subfamily of the Castori- Trunk Butte, Niobrara Co., Wyo. All specimens dae. He placed the genusAnchitheriomys in that are of Orellan age. subfamily. Figure 1 illustrates most of the foramina While I was curating the fossil rodents in the described. It is a composite diagram of the seven Frick and Cook Collections at the American American Museum of Natural History and Car- Museum of Natural History, four partial skulls of negie Museum specimens. It is not an accurate Eutypomys thomsoni came to light. These speci- representation of any one specimen. mens make possible a more thorough and accu- The ratio of length of the incisive foramina to rate description of the cranial foramina than I diastemal length, measured in a direct line from could achieve in 1972. I follow the methodology the back of the incisor alveolus to the front of of cladistic analysis set forth by Hennig (e.g., the alveolus of the third premolar, ranges from 1966), Brundin (1966), and others. Comparison .26 to .30. The lateral margins of the foramina of the foramina in Eutypomys with those in pro- are intersected near the back by the premaxil- trogomorphous and sciuromorphous rodents lary-maxillary suture, which runs posterolaterally yields evidence for distinguishing primitive and away from them. derived characters and for testing hypotheses of The pair of posterior palatine foramina is relationship, based primarily on dental charac- within the palatine bones medial to the junction ters, of the genus to other rodents. It is not pos- of the first and second molars in five specimens sible to consider every one of these hypotheses and medial to the front of the second molars in because comparative skull material for some of two specimens; they face anteroventrally. A the extinct taxa is wanting. Further information minute foramen medial to the back of the second about specific foramina may be found in Wahlert molars is sometimes present either paired or (1974). For the most part I use the names of asymmetrically single. The maxilla ends behind 1977 WAHLERT: EUTYPOMYS 3 FIG. 1. Cranial foramina of Eutypomys thomsoni (composite of seven specimens). Abbreviations: asc, alisphenoid canal; bu, buccinator; cca, anterior end, carotid canal; dpl, dorsal palatine; eth, ethmoid; fo, foramen ovale; foa, foramen ovale accessorius; hy, hypoglossal; ifo, infraor- bital; in, incisive; ito, interorbital; ju, jugular; ms, mastoid; msc, masticatory; nl, nasolacrimal; op, optic; pgl, postglenoid; pom, posterior maxillary; ppl, posterior palatine; spf, sphenofrontal; spl, sphe- nopalatine; spn, sphenoidal fissure; st, stapedial; sty, stylomastoid; t, temporal; trc, transverse canal. Dashed line, probable position; hatched areas, cut through bone. the cheek teeth in a point. Between the point not so well developed, and there is no suggestion and the pterygoid region a posterior maxillary of a canal. The medial side of the foramen is foramen is enclosed; it opens dorsally in the floor slightly depressed into the side of the snout. A of the sphenoidal fissure. rough area behind the base of the foramen, the Jaw musculature was sciuromorphous; the equivalent of a masseteric tubercle, is the area of ridge which dorsally bounds the area of origin of origin of the anterior superficial division of the the deep division of the lateral masseter extends lateral masseter. The height of the infraorbital onto the premaxilla. In the type and two other foramen is greater in specimens with a short specimens, the lateral margin of the infraorbital infraorbital canal; it ranges from 2.3 to 3.8 mm. foramen is prolonged anteroventrally to form a The anterior alveolar foramen, seen in F:AM short infraorbital canal. In lateral view, this mar- 64002 and CM 9839, is large and directed anteri- gin is vertical, and in front view it is nearly verti- orly into the floor of the orbit behind the infra- cal. In one specimen, F:AM 64002, the margin is orbital foramen. The lacrimal region is damaged 4 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 2626 in most specimens. F:AM 64002 is the only one choanae until it plunges through the palate to that retains a lacrimal bone; it surrounds the emerge on the ventral side. entrance to the nasolacrimal canal, which opens The sphenoidal fissure at its opening is sepa- posterodorsal to the infraorbital foramen. The rated from the cranial cavity by a wall of bone. canal turns anteriorly and runs through the base The fissure is dorsal and posterior to the third of the zygoma dorsal to that foramen.