A large mimotonid from the middle Eocene of China sheds light on the evolution of lagomorphs and their kin.
A large mimotonid from the middle Eocene of China sheds light on the evolution of lagomorphs and their kin.
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DOI：
10.1038/srep09394
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发表时间：
2015-03-30
影响因子：
4.6
通讯作者：
Wang Y
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Fostowicz-Frelik Ł;Li C;Mao F;Meng J;Wang Y
含羞草科动物与兔形目动物有着最密切的亲缘关系，是中亚古近纪哺乳动物群中稀有的地方性动物群。在这里，我们描述了一个新物种，来自内蒙古（中国）始新世中期的极光Mimolagus aurorae。该物种属于化石 Glires 中最神秘的属之一，之前仅通过来自甘肃（中国）渐新世早期的类型和唯一标本来了解该属。我们的发现将亚洲古近纪中该属的最早出现时间延长了至少 1000 万年，这缩小了含羞草属与迄今为止已知的始新世中期或更早沉积物中的其他含羞草科动物之间的差距。这个新物种是已知最大的前渐新世 Glires 之一。就双齿动物而言，含羞草可与最大的新近纪大陆兔科动物（即天兔属的野兔）相媲美。我们的研究结果表明，该物种的生态形态与始新世蒙古高原动物区系中占主导地位的小型奇蹄类动物趋同，这可能是来自其他Glires（包括同时存在的含羞草类Gomphos）竞争压力的结果。
Mimotonids share their closest affinity with lagomorphs and were a rare and endemic faunal element of Paleogene mammal assemblages of central Asia. Here we describe a new species, Mimolagus aurorae from the Middle Eocene of Nei Mongol (China). This species belongs to one of the most enigmatic genera of fossil Glires, previously known only from the type and only specimen from the early Oligocene of Gansu (China). Our finding extends the earliest occurrence of the genus by at least 10 million years in the Paleogene of Asia, which closes the gap between Mimolagus and other mimotonids that are known thus far from middle Eocene or older deposits. The new species is one of the largest known pre-Oligocene Glires. As regards duplicidentates, Mimolagus is comparable with the largest Neogene continental leporids, namely hares of the genus Lepus. Our results suggest that ecomorphology of this species was convergent on that of small perissodactyls that dominated faunas of the Mongolian Plateau in the Eocene, and probably a result of competitive pressure from other Glires, including a co-occurring mimotonid, Gomphos.
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影响因子：
10
作者：
Damuth, John;Janis, Christine M.
通讯作者：
Janis, Christine M.
影响因子：
56.9
作者：
Asher, RJ;Meng, J;Novacek, MJ
通讯作者：
Novacek, MJ
影响因子：
1.4
作者：
Martin, T
通讯作者：
Martin, T
影响因子：
1.4
作者：
Martin, T
通讯作者：
Martin, T
中国内蒙古二连盆地始新世的Gomphos新种（哺乳动物）
影响因子：
1.5
作者：
Meng, Jin;Kraatz, Brian P.;Beard, K. Christopher
通讯作者：
Beard, K. Christopher