Paucituberculata

Paucituberculata Temporal range: Late Paleocene (Itaboraian)-Recent ~58.7–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Caenolestes sangay
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Clade:	Marsupialiformes
Infraclass:	Marsupialia
Order:	Paucituberculata Trouessart 1898, Ameghino 1894
Suborders
See text
Diversity
7 extant species

Paucituberculata /ˌpɔːsɪtjuːˌbɜːrkjuːˈleɪtə/ is an order of South American marsupials. Although currently represented only by the seven living species of shrew opossums, 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.^[1][2] The earliest paucituberculatans date to the late Paleocene (Itaboraian South American land mammal age).^[3] 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 Caenolestidae (including , , and ).^[2]

Classification[]

It is one of two clades of Ameridelphia, a paraphyletic group; genetic studies have shown these animals to be a sister group to Australidelphia (i.e., Didelphimorphia branched off first).^[4][5]

The Paucituberculata were once considered to be closely related to South American polydolopimorph metatherians, however phylogenetic analyses have found this is not true.^[3]

Subdivision[]

The order is subdivided into:^[6][7]

• † Goin et al. 2009^[3]
• † Goin et al. 2007
• † Forasiepi et al. 2013
• † Goin et al. 2009^[3]
• Superfamily Trouessart 1898
  • Family Caenolestidae Trouessart 1898
    • Caenolestes Thomas 1895
    • Lestoros Oehser 1934
    • † Ameghino 1903
    • Rhyncholestes Osgood 1924
    • † Ameghino 1887
• Superfamily † Goin et al. 2009^[8]
  • † Goin & Candela 2004
  • † Ameghino 1903
  • † Goin & Candela 2004
  • Family † Marshall 1980
    • † Ameghino 1890
    • † Ameghino 1894
    • † Reig 1955
    • † Goin & Candela 1998
  • Family † Sinclair 1906
    • † Rincón et al. 2015^[9]
    • † Bown & Fleagle 1993
    • † Engelman et al. 2017^[2]
    • † Dumont & Brown 1997^[10]
    • Subfamily † Sinclair 1906^[11]
      • † Ameghino 1887
      • † Ameghino 1902
      • † Bown & Fleagle 1993
    • Subfamily † Ameghino 1893
      • † Ameghino 1887
      • † Bown & Fleagle 1993
      • † Bown & Fleagle 1993
      • † Rae, Bown & Fleagle 1996
      • † Bown & Fleagle 1993
  • Family † Ameghino 1889
    • † Ameghino 1887
    • † Ameghino 1902
    • † Ameghino 1902

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Abello, María Alejandra. 2007. Sistemática y bioestratigrafía de los Paucituberculata (Mammalia, Marsupialia) del Cenozoico de América del Sur (PhD thesis), 1–438. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Accessed 2017-10-20.

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