Thorntail relatives
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| Anomaluromorpha | ||||||||||||
| Bugge , 1974 | ||||||||||||
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The thorntail squirrel relatives (Anomaluromorpha) are a suborder within the rodents . It brings together two species-poor families living exclusively in central and southern Africa :
- the spring hares (Pedetidae) and
- the thorntail squirrel (Anomaluridae).
For a long time, both groups were isolated in the rodent system . The thorntail squirrels have nothing in common with the flying squirrels apart from the sliding skin , so that a closer relationship was excluded. The jumping hares, which in their appearance resemble the non-rodent hares , have been falsely suspected of having a relationship with jerboa or porcupines .
Thorntail squirrels and spring hares have hardly any external similarities. Matches were eventually found in anatomical details of the middle ear and the carotid artery . The hypothesis of a relationship between the two families was initially questioned as there are no fossil finds to support them. Thanks to the molecular genetic analyzes by Montgelard and others, this hypothesis is now considered confirmed.
Due to the differences in physique and bone finds of ancestors of the thorntail squirrels, it is assumed that both families developed separately from one another very early, probably in the Eocene . Fossils of a possible common ancestor have not yet been found. The newly discovered Laotian rock rat ( Laonastes aenigmamus ), which according to the latest findings is classified in the otherwise extinct family of the Diatomyidae , could also belong in this taxon.
The question of how the thorn-tailed squirrel-like can be classified within the system of rodents is still largely unanswered.
literature
- Malcolm C. McKenna, Susan K. Bell: Classification of Mammals. Revised Edition. Above the species level. Columbia University Press, New York NY 2000, ISBN 0-231-11013-8 .
- Claudine Montgelard, Sophie Bentz, Claire Tirard, Olivier Verneau, François M. Catzeflis: Molecular Systematics of Sciurognathi (Rodentia): The Mitochondrial Cytochrome b and 12S rRNA Genes Support the Anomaluroidea (Pedetidae and Anomaluridae). In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Vol. 22, No. 2, February 2002, ISSN 1055-7903 , pp. 220-233, doi : 10.1006 / mpev.2001.1056 .