Paucituberculata is an order of
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
n
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 e ...
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
The Thanetian is, in the ICS Geologic timescale, the latest age or uppermost stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Thanetian is preceded by the Selandian Age and followed by the Ypresian Age (p ...
(
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 Cas ...
South American land mammal age
The South American land mammal ages (SALMA) establish a geologic timescale for prehistoric South American fauna beginning 64.5 Ma during the Paleocene and continuing through to the Late Pleistocene (0.011 Ma). These periods are referred to as age ...
).
The group went through a pronounced decline in the middle
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
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 e ...
(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 (i.e.,
Didelphimorphia branched off first).
The Paucituberculata were once considered to be closely related to South American
polydolopimorph metatherians, however phylogenetic analyses have found this is not true.
[
]
Subdivision
The order is subdivided into:[Abello, 2007, p.410][Paucituberculata]
at Fossilworks.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 e ...
*** '' Caenolestes''
*** '' Lestoros''
*** †'' Pseudhalmarhiphus''
*** '' Rhyncholestes''
*** †'' Stilotherium''
* Superfamily † Palaeothentoidea [Palaeothentoidea]
at Fossilworks.org
** †'' Perulestes''
** †'' Pilchenia''
** †'' Sasawatsu''
** Family † Pichipilidae
*** †'' Pichipilus''
*** †'' Phonocdromus''
*** †'' Pliolestes''
*** †'' Quirogalestes''
** Family † Palaeothentidae
*** †'' Antawallathentes''
*** †'' Carlothentes''
*** †'' Chimeralestes''
*** †'' Hondathentes'' [''Hondathenthes'']
at Fossilworks.org
*** Subfamily † Palaeothentinae [Paleothentidae]
at Fossilworks.org
**** †'' 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
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