Paucituberculata is an order of
South American
marsupials. Although currently represented only by the seven living species of
shrew opossum
The family Caenolestidae contains the seven surviving species of shrew opossum: small, shrew-like marsupials that are confined to the Andes mountains of South America. The order is thought to have diverged from the ancestral marsupial line very ...
s, this order was formerly much more diverse, with more than 60 extinct species named from the fossil record, particularly from the late Oligocene to early Miocene epochs.
The earliest paucituberculatans date to the
late Paleocene (
Itaboraian
The Itaboraian ( pt, Itaboraiense) age is a period within the Early Eocene geologic time (53.0–50.0 Ma) epoch of the Paleogene, used more specifically with South American land mammal ages (SALMA). It follows the Riochican and precedes the Casa ...
South American land mammal age).
The group went through a pronounced decline in the middle
Miocene epoch, which resulted in the extinction of all families of this order except for the living
shrew opossums
The family Caenolestidae contains the seven surviving species of shrew opossum: small, shrew-like marsupials that are confined to the Andes mountains of South America. The order is thought to have diverged from the ancestral marsupial line very ...
(Caenolestidae). Extinct families of Paucituberculatans include
Pichipilidae,
Palaeothentidae, and
Abderitidae.
Classification
It is one of two clades of
Ameridelphia
Ameridelphia is traditionally a superorder that includes all marsupials living in the Americas except for the Monito del monte (''Dromiciops''). It is now regarded as a paraphyletic group.
Orders
The orders within this group are listed below:
...
, a
paraphyletic group; genetic studies have shown these animals to be a
sister group to
Australidelphia
Australidelphia is the superorder that contains roughly three-quarters of all marsupials, including all those native to Australasia and a single species — the monito del monte — from South America. All other American marsupials are members o ...
(i.e.,
Didelphimorphia branched off first).
The Paucituberculata were once considered to be closely related to South American
polydolopimorph
Polydolopimorphia is an extinct order of metatherians, more closely related to extant marsupials than other extinct mammals. Known from the Paleocene-Pliocene of South America and the Eocene of Antarctica, they were a diverse group during the Pa ...
metatherians, however phylogenetic analyses have found this is not true.
[
]
Subdivision
The order is subdivided into:[Abello, 2007, p.410][Paucituberculata]
at Fossilworks
Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world.
History
Fossilworks was crea ...
.org
* †'' Bardalestes'' [
* †'' Evolestes''
* †'' Fieratherium''
* †'' Riolestes'' ][
* Superfamily Caenolestoidea
** Family ]Caenolestidae
The family Caenolestidae contains the seven surviving species of shrew opossum: small, shrew-like marsupials that are confined to the Andes mountains of South America. The order is thought to have diverged from the ancestral marsupial line very ...
*** ''Caenolestes
The common shrew opossums (genus ''Caenolestes'') are members of the family Caenolestidae. They are found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República ...
''
*** '' Lestoros''
*** †'' Pseudhalmarhiphus''
*** ''Rhyncholestes
The long-nosed caenolestid (''Rhyncholestes raphanurus''), also known as the Chilean shrew opossum or long-nosed shrew opossum, is a shrew opossum that occurs in temperate forests of Argentina and southern Chile. It was first described by Americ ...
''
*** †'' Stilotherium''
* Superfamily † Palaeothentoidea [Palaeothentoidea]
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** †'' Perulestes''
** †'' Pilchenia''
** †'' Sasawatsu''
** Family † Pichipilidae
*** †'' Pichipilus''
*** †'' Phonocdromus''
*** †'' Pliolestes''
*** †'' Quirogalestes''
** Family † Palaeothentidae
*** †'' Antawallathentes''
*** †'' Carlothentes''
*** †'' Chimeralestes''
*** †'' Hondathentes'' [''Hondathenthes'']
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History
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*** Subfamily † Palaeothentinae [Paleothentidae]
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History
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**** †'' Palaeothentes''
**** †'' Palaepanorthus''
**** †'' Propalaeothentes''
*** Subfamily † Decastinae
**** †'' Acdestis''
**** †'' Acdestoides''
**** †'' Acdestodon''
**** †'' Titanothentes''
**** †'' Trelewthentes''
** Family † Abderitidae
*** †''Abderites
Abderites or Abderite may refer to:
*People associated with the ancient city of Abdera, Thrace
*Adherents of the philosophical school of Abdera
*Abderite, a reference to Democritus, native of Abdera; later acquired the generic meaning of "scoffer ...
''
*** †'' Pitheculites''
*** †'' Parabderites''
References
Bibliography
*
Marsupials
Mammal orders
Marsupials of South America
Neogene mammals of South America
Quaternary mammals of South America
Extant Oligocene first appearances
Taxa named by Édouard Louis Trouessart
{{marsupial-stub