Ptolemaiida, a new order of Mammalia--with description of the cranium of Ptolemaia grangeri
- PMID: 11607526
- PMCID: PMC42147
- DOI: 10.1073/pnas.92.8.3269
Ptolemaiida, a new order of Mammalia--with description of the cranium of Ptolemaia grangeri
Abstract
All records of the exotic mammalian family Ptolemaiidae are known from 182 m of section in the lower to middle parts of the upper Eocene and lower Oligocene Jebel Qatrani Formation, Fayum Depression, Egypt. Previous tentative assignments of ptolemaiid affinity have suggested that these animals are allied with the primitive suborder Pantolesta (currently placed in the order Cimolesta). Though perhaps ultimately derived from an unknown member of that group, the likelihood that ptolemaiids constitute a distinct group is considered, and analysis of all known materials of Ptolemaia, Qarunavus, and Cleopatrodon demonstrates that these genera belong in their own order, the Ptolemaiida, described here. The morphologically unique dentition and only known ptolemaiid cranium, that of Ptolemaia grangeri, is described. Although Qarunavus and Cleopatrodon show some similarities in primitive characters to European merialine Paroxyclaenidae (suborder Pantolesta), their affinities clearly lie with Ptolemaia and the Ptolemaiida.
Similar articles
-
Additional material of the enigmatic Early Miocene mammal Kelba and its relationship to the order Ptolemaiida.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Mar 27;104(13):5510-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0700441104. Epub 2007 Mar 19. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007. PMID: 17372202 Free PMC article.
-
Description of two genera and species of late Eocene Anthropoidea from Egypt.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989 Dec;86(24):9956-60. doi: 10.1073/pnas.86.24.9956. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1989. PMID: 2513576 Free PMC article.
-
New phiocricetomyine rodents (Hystricognathi) from the Jebel Qatrani Formation, Fayum Depression, Egypt.PeerJ. 2021 Oct 19;9:e12074. doi: 10.7717/peerj.12074. eCollection 2021. PeerJ. 2021. PMID: 34721955 Free PMC article.
-
Evolutionary history of lorisiform primates.Folia Primatol (Basel). 1998;69 Suppl 1:250-85. doi: 10.1159/000052716. Folia Primatol (Basel). 1998. PMID: 9595692 Review.
-
Bird evolution in the Eocene: climate change in Europe and a Danish fossil fauna.Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2006 Nov;81(4):483-99. doi: 10.1017/S146479310600707X. Epub 2006 Aug 8. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2006. PMID: 16893476 Review.
Cited by
-
Additional material of the enigmatic Early Miocene mammal Kelba and its relationship to the order Ptolemaiida.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Mar 27;104(13):5510-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0700441104. Epub 2007 Mar 19. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007. PMID: 17372202 Free PMC article.
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
