Peradectidae is a family of small

metatheria Metatheria is a mammalian clade that includes all mammals more closely related to marsupials than to placentals. First proposed by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1880, it is a more inclusive group than the marsupials; it contains all marsupials as wel ...

n mammals, spanning from the

Paleocene The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...

(or possibly Latest Cretaceous) to the

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 ...

. Fossils are known from the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe, Asia and North America. The monophyly of the group has been questioned, with some authors suggesting that '' Peradectes'' should be the only genus placed in the family. The morphology of peradectids has been considered to be similar to opossums, with at least some exhibiting morphology suggesting a tree dwelling arboreal/scansorial lifestyle. Their diet is suggested to have included insects and fruit. Phylogenetic analysis suggest that they are less closely related to modern marsupials than herpetotheriids are. Cladogram after:

References

Taxa described in 1979 Prehistoric metatherians Prehistoric mammal families Paleocene first appearances Miocene extinctions {{Paleo-mammal-stub