Apatemyidae
Apatemyidae is an extinct family of placental mammals that took part in the first placental evolutionary radiation together with other early mammals such as the leptictids.
| Apatemyidae | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Suborder: | †Apatotheria |
| Family: | †Apatemyidae |
Common in North America during the Paleocene, they are also represented in Europe by the genus Jepsenella.[1]
Apatemyids in life
Like most Paleocene mammals, the apatemyds were small and presumably insectivorous. Size ranged from that of a dormouse to a large rat. The toes were slender and well clawed, and the family were probably mainly arboreal.[2] The skull was fairly massive compared to the otherwise slender skeleton, and the front teeth were long and hooked, resembling those of the modern aye-aye and marsupial Dactylopsila, both whom make their living by gnawing off bark with their front teeth to get at grubs and maggots beneath.[3]
See also
References
- Agusti, Jordi; Anton, Mauricio (2002). Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11640-3.
- von Koenigswald, Wighart; Storch, Gerhard, eds. (1998). Messel: ein Pompeji der Paläontologie. Sigmaringen: Thorbecke. ISBN 3-7995-9083-8.
- v. Koenigswald, W.; Schierning, H.-P. (9 April 1987). "The ecological niche of an extinct group of mammals, the early Tertiary apatemyids". Nature. 326 (6113): 595–597. doi:10.1038/326595a0.