hystricognath
The Hystricognathi are an infraorder of rodents, distinguished from other rodents by the bone structure of their skulls. The masseter medialis (a jaw muscle) passes partially through a hole below each eye socket (called the infraorbital foram ...
rodents
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the 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 rodents. They are n ...
that contains the
dassie rat
The dassie rat (''Petromus typicus'') is an African rodent found among rocky outcroppings. It is the only living member of its genus, '' Petromus'', and family, '' Petromuridae''. The name " dassie" means " hyrax" in Afrikaans,dassie rats are n ...
''(Petromus typicus)'' of southwestern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, the only extant member of this group and the entire family
Petromuridae
Petromuridae is a family of hystricognath rodents that contains the dassie rat ''(Petromus typicus)'' of southwestern Africa, the only extant member of this group.
The genus ''Petromus'' contains a couple of extinct species, and additionally ther ...
.
Two fossil species are known from the
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Petromus antiquus'' of the Early Pliocene.