Tarsal morphology of ischyromyid rodents from the middle Eocene of China gives an insight into the group’s diversity in Central Asia
Abstract Ischyromyids are a group of large rodents with the earliest fossil record known from the late Paleocene (Clarkforkian) of North America; they are considered the earliest fossil representatives of Rodentia of modern aspect. Ischyromyids dominated early Paleogene small-mammal assemblages of N...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90796-1 |
| _version_ | 1831632610141405184 |
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| author | Łucja Fostowicz-Frelik Sergi López-Torres Qian Li |
| author_facet | Łucja Fostowicz-Frelik Sergi López-Torres Qian Li |
| author_sort | Łucja Fostowicz-Frelik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Ischyromyids are a group of large rodents with the earliest fossil record known from the late Paleocene (Clarkforkian) of North America; they are considered the earliest fossil representatives of Rodentia of modern aspect. Ischyromyids dominated early Paleogene small-mammal assemblages of North America and in the latest Paleocene migrated to western Europe and to Asia; in the latter they survived only to the beginning of the late Eocene, but were never abundant. Here we describe for the first time the calcanei of ischyromyids from the early middle Eocene of the Erlian Basin in Nei Mongol, northern China. These calcanei document the existence of three species. The morphology of the studied tarsal bones overall suggests ambulatory locomotion for these animals (‘slow cursors’), similar to that of the coypu and porcupines, but one form shows more marked cursorial capabilities. These differences show that Chinese ischyromyids, although rare, had attained greater taxonomic diversity by the middle Eocene in Nei Mongol than estimated from dental remains. We also address the question of the morphological and ecological divergence of these ischyromyids in relation to their North American counterparts, as well as the issue of a direct dispersal route from North America to Asia in the early Eocene. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T05:21:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-29684ef37ec340a9a477308b60359512 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T05:21:42Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-29684ef37ec340a9a477308b603595122022-12-21T20:34:28ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222021-06-0111111110.1038/s41598-021-90796-1Tarsal morphology of ischyromyid rodents from the middle Eocene of China gives an insight into the group’s diversity in Central AsiaŁucja Fostowicz-Frelik0Sergi López-Torres1Qian Li2Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract Ischyromyids are a group of large rodents with the earliest fossil record known from the late Paleocene (Clarkforkian) of North America; they are considered the earliest fossil representatives of Rodentia of modern aspect. Ischyromyids dominated early Paleogene small-mammal assemblages of North America and in the latest Paleocene migrated to western Europe and to Asia; in the latter they survived only to the beginning of the late Eocene, but were never abundant. Here we describe for the first time the calcanei of ischyromyids from the early middle Eocene of the Erlian Basin in Nei Mongol, northern China. These calcanei document the existence of three species. The morphology of the studied tarsal bones overall suggests ambulatory locomotion for these animals (‘slow cursors’), similar to that of the coypu and porcupines, but one form shows more marked cursorial capabilities. These differences show that Chinese ischyromyids, although rare, had attained greater taxonomic diversity by the middle Eocene in Nei Mongol than estimated from dental remains. We also address the question of the morphological and ecological divergence of these ischyromyids in relation to their North American counterparts, as well as the issue of a direct dispersal route from North America to Asia in the early Eocene.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90796-1 |
| spellingShingle | Łucja Fostowicz-Frelik Sergi López-Torres Qian Li Tarsal morphology of ischyromyid rodents from the middle Eocene of China gives an insight into the group’s diversity in Central Asia Scientific Reports |
| title | Tarsal morphology of ischyromyid rodents from the middle Eocene of China gives an insight into the group’s diversity in Central Asia |
| title_full | Tarsal morphology of ischyromyid rodents from the middle Eocene of China gives an insight into the group’s diversity in Central Asia |
| title_fullStr | Tarsal morphology of ischyromyid rodents from the middle Eocene of China gives an insight into the group’s diversity in Central Asia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tarsal morphology of ischyromyid rodents from the middle Eocene of China gives an insight into the group’s diversity in Central Asia |
| title_short | Tarsal morphology of ischyromyid rodents from the middle Eocene of China gives an insight into the group’s diversity in Central Asia |
| title_sort | tarsal morphology of ischyromyid rodents from the middle eocene of china gives an insight into the group s diversity in central asia |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90796-1 |
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