Amphilemuridae

The Amphilemuridae are a family of extinct mammals belonging to the order Eulipotyphla, from the Eocene of Europe and North America.

Amphilemuridae Temporal range:
Pholidocercus hassiacus fossil at Museum of Paleontology, Tübingen
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Eulipotyphla
Family:	†Amphilemuridae Hill, 1953
Synonyms
Dormaaliidae Quinet 1964

Description

Amphilemurids were generally small in size and may have resembled moonrats in life. Some species had spines like those of hedgehogs, while others were almost free of spines or had bristly coats. Most species are known only from teeth.

Classification

The family Amphilemuridae was first described in 1953 by Hill, and was included in the order Insectivora, which later proved to be polyphyletic. Currently the amphilemurids are considered basal members of the order Eulipotyphla, although Hooker and Russell (2012) considered them to belong to the order Macroscelidea.

Taxonomy

Family †Amphilemuridae Hill, 1953

• Subfamily †Placentidentinae D. E. Russell et al., 1973
  • †Placentidens Russell & Savage 1973
    • †Placentidens lotus Russell & Savage 1973
• Subfamily †Amphilemurinae Hill, 1953
  • †Macrocranion Weitzel, 1949
    • †Macrocranion junnei Smith, Bloch, Strait & Gingerich, 2002
    • †Macrocranion nitens Matthew, 1918
    • †Macrocranion robinsoni Krishtalka & Setoguchi, 1977
    • †Macrocranion vandebroekiQuinet, 1964
    • †Macrocranion germonpreae Smith, 1997
    • †Macrocranion tenerum Tobien, 1962
    • †Macrocranion tupaiodon Weitzel, 1949
    • †Macrocranion huerzeleri Maitre, Escarguel & Sigé, 2006
    • †Macrocranion storchi Maitre, Escarguel & Sigé, 2006
    • †Macrocranion sudrei Maitre, Escarguel & Sigé, 2006
  • †Amphilemur Heller 1935
    • †Amphilemur eocaenicus Heller, 1935
    • †Amphilemur peyeri Hürzeler, 1946
    • †Amphilemur oltinus Maitre, Escarguel & Sigé, 2006
  • †Pholidocercus von Koenigswald & Storch, 1983
    • †Pholidocercus hassiacus von Koenigswald & Storch, 1983
  • †Gesneropithex Hürzeler 1946
    • †Gesneropithex figularis Hürzeler, 1946
    • †Gesneropithex grisollensis Norris & Harrison, 1998
  • †Alsaticopithecus Hürzeler 1947
    • †Alsaticopithecus leemani Hürzeler 1947
  • †Echinolestes Maitre, Escarguel & Sigé, 2006
    • †Echinolestes quercyi Maitre, Escarguel e Sigé, 2006

Bibliography

• Maitre, Élodie; Escarguel, Gilles; Sigé, Bernard (2006). "Amphilemuridae (Lipotyphla, Mammalia) éocènes d'Europe occidentale : Nouvelles données taxonomiques". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 5 (6): 813–820. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2006.01.005.
• Dunn, Rachel H.; Rasmussen, D. Tab (2009). "Skeletal Morphology of a New Genus of Eocene Insectivore (Mammalia, Erinaceomorpha) from Utah". Journal of Mammalogy. 90 (2): 321–331. doi:10.1644/08-MAMM-A-084.1. S2CID 86159414.