Mylagaulidae

The Mylagaulidae or mylagaulids are a prehistoric family of sciuromorph rodents. They are known from the Neogene of North America and China.[1] The oldest member is the Late Oligocene Trilaccogaulus montanensis from living some 29 million years ago (Mya), and the youngest was Ceratogaulus hatcheri—formerly in Epigaulus—which was found barely into the Pliocene, some 5 Mya.[2]

Mylagaulidae
Temporal range: 28–5 Ma Late Oligocene - Early Pliocene
Reconstruction of Ceratogaulus hatcheri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Sciuromorpha
Family: †Mylagaulidae
Cope, 1881
Subfamilies

See text

Systematics

Three subfamilies are recognized. The taxonomy of Galbreathia is not resolved; it might belong in Mylagaulinae, but lacks the characteristic apomorphies.[2]

Promylagaulinae

  • Genus Crucimys
  • Genus Promylagaulus
  • Genus Trilaccogaulus
  • Genus Simpligaulus

Mesogaulinae

  • Genus Mesogaulus - includes Mylagaulodon

Mylagaulinae

incertae sedis

  • Genus Galbreathia - basal in Mylagaulinae?

Footnotes
  1. McKenna & Bell (1997)
  2. Hopkins (2005)
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References
  • Hopkins, Samantha S.B. (2005): The evolution of fossoriality and the adaptive role of horns in the Mylagaulidae (Mammalia: Rodentia). Proc. R. Soc. B 272(1573): 1705–1713. doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3171 PDF fulltext
  • McKenna, M. C, and S. K. Bell (1997): Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11012-X


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