Eurymylidae

Taxobox
name = Eurymylidae
fossil_range = Early Paleocene to Middle Eocene
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Rodentia
familia = †Eurymylidae
familia_authority = Matthew, Granger, & Simpson, 1929
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = †"Heomys"
†"Zagmys"
†"Nikolomylus"
†"Kazygurtia"
†"Eomylus"
†"Eurymylus"
†"Amar"
†"Hanomys"
†"Rhombomylus"
†"Matutinia"
†"Decipomys"
†"Khaychina"

Eurymylidae is a family of extinct simplicidentates. Most authorities consider them to be basal to all modern rodents and may have been the ancestral stock whence the most recent common ancestor of all modern rodents (crown rodents) arose. However, the more completely known eurymylids, including "Eurymylus", "Heomys", "Matutinia", and "Rhombomylus", appear to represent a monophyletic side branch not directly ancestral to rodents (Meng et al., 2003). Huang et al. (2004) have argued that "Hanomys", "Matutinia", and "Rhombomylus" form a clade characterized by distinctive features of the skull and dentition that should be recognized as a separate family, Rhombomylidae. Eurymylids are only known from Asia.

Classification

Modified from McKenna and Bell (1997) following generic taxonomy of Ting et al. (2002) and Huang et al. (2004)

*Mirorder Simplicidentata - simplicidentates
**Family †Eurymylidae
***†"Heomys"
***†"Zagmys"
***†"Nikolomylus"
***Subfamily †Eurymylinae
****†"Kazygurtia"
****†"Eomylus"
****†"Eurymylus"
****†"Amar"
****†"Hanomys"
****†"Rhombomylus"
****†"Matutinia"
****†"Decipomys"
***Subfamily †Khaychininae
****†"Khaychina"
**Order Rodentia - crown rodents (including all extant rodents)

References

*Huang, X., C. Li, M.R. Dawson, and L. Liu, 2003. "Hanomys malcolmi", a new simplicidentate mammal from the Paleocene of central China: its relationships and stratigraphic implications "Bulletin of Carnegie Museum of Natural History" 36(1):81-89.
*McKenna, Malcolm C., and Bell, Susan K. 1997. "Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level." Columbia University Press, New York, 631 pp. ISBN 0-231-11013-8
*Meng, J., Y. Hu, C. Li, 2003. The osteology of "Rhombomylus" (Mammalia, Glires): implications for phylogeny and evolution of Glires "Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History" 275:1-247. [http://hdl.handle.net/2246/442]
*Ting, S., J. Meng, M.C. McKenna, and C. Li. 2002. The osteology of "Matutinia" (Simplicidentata, Mammalia) and its relationship to "Rhombomylus". American Museum Novitates, 3371:1-33. [http://hdl.handle.net/2246/2860]