Eomyidae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of extinct

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are roden ...

s from North America and

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

related to modern day

pocket gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They ar ...

s and

kangaroo rats Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus ''Dipodomys'', are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed th ...

. They are known from the

Middle Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "d ...

to the

Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million years ago) to 5.333 Ma. The ...

in North America and from the

Late Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "d ...

to the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...

in Eurasia. Eomyids were generally small, but occasionally large, and tended to be squirrel-like in form and habits. The family includes the earliest known gliding rodent, ''

Eomys quercyi ''Eomys'' is an extinct genus of eomyid rodent from the late Oligocene of France, Germany, Spain, and possibly Turkey. The species ''Eomys quercyi'' is the earliest known gliding rodent. References External links ''Eomys''in the Paleobiolog ...

''. The family includes the following genera: *'' Simiacritomys'' (placement uncertain) *'' Symplokeomys'' *Subfamily Yoderimyinae **'' Litoyoderimys'' **'' Yoderimys'' **'' Zaisaneomys'' **'' Zemiodontomys'' *Subfamily Apeomyinae **''

Apeomyoides ''Apeomyoides savagei'' is a fossil rodent from the Miocene of the United States, the only species in the genus ''Apeomyoides''. It is known from fragmentary jaws and isolated teeth from a site in the early Barstovian, around 15–16 million yea ...

'' **'' Apeomys'' **'' Arikareeomys'' **'' Megapeomys'' **'' Zophoapeomys'' *Subfamily Eomyinae **'' Adjidaumo'' **'' Aguafriamys'' **'' Asianeomys'' **'' Aulolithomys'' **'' Centimanomys'' **'' Comancheomys'' **'' Cristadjidaumo'' **'' Cupressimus'' **'' Eomyodon'' **'' Eomyops'' **'' Eomys'' **'' Estramomys'' **'' Japaneomys'' **'' Kansasimys'' **'' Keramidomys'' **'' Leptodontomys'' **'' Ligerimys'' **'' Metadjidaumo'' **'' Metanoiamys'' **'' Meteomys'' **'' Montanamus'' **'' Namatomys'' **'' Neoadjidaumo'' **'' Orelladjidaumo'' **'' Paradjidaumo'' **'' Paranamatomys'' **'' Pentabuneomys'' **'' Protadjidaumo'' **'' Pseudadjidaumo'' **'' Pseudotheridomys'' **'' Rhodanomys'' **'' Ritteneria'' **'' Ronquillomys'' **'' Viejadjidaumo''

References

Literature cited

* * * * * * * * * * Geomyoid rodents Prehistoric rodent families Eocene first appearances Pleistocene extinctions Taxa named by Herluf Winge {{paleo-rodent-stub