Microbiotheriidae
| Microbiotheriidae | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chiloe opossum ( Dromiciops gliroides ) |
||||||||||||
| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Paleocene to date | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the order | ||||||||||||
| Microbiotheria | ||||||||||||
| Ameghino , 1889 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the family | ||||||||||||
| Microbiotheriidae | ||||||||||||
| Ameghino, 1887 |
The Microbiotheriidae are a family of marsupials (Marsupialia) introduced in 1889 by the Argentine naturalist Florentino Ameghino to classify some marsupial fossils (genera Microbiotherium , Stilotherium ) from the late Oligocene and early Miocene of Patagonia . Maintaining the Microbiotheriidae extinct until the Argentine paleontologist Osvaldo Reig in 1955, noted that the tympanic bladder ( bulla ), the ontogeny of the intermediate jaw bone and the pattern on the molars of Microbiotherium common with the characteristics in the recent Monito Del Monte ( Dromiciops gliroides ) and places the genus Dromiciops , which previously belonged to the opossum family (Didelphidae), into the Microbiotheriidae.
features
An important common feature of the fossil Microbiotheriidae and the genus Dromiciops is the basic tooth formula:
| 5 | · | 1 | · | 3 | · | 4th | = 50 |
| 4th | · | 1 | · | 3 | · | 4th |
Other common features include the four evenly arranged lower incisors, the round tooth sockets of the incisors, the short and shallow mandibular symphysis and the large, three-part tympanic bladder.
The Microbiotheriidae are more closely related to the Australian marsupials than to the other South American marsupials (opossum rats and mouse opossums (Caenolestidae)).
Genera
- Dromiciops , recent, central Chile
- Eomicrobiotherium †, early Miocene, Argentina
- Khasia †, early Paleocene, Bolivia
- Marambiotherium †, mid Eocene, Seymour Island (Antarctica)
- Microbiotherium †, Late Oligocene and Early Miocene, Argentina
- Mirandatherium †, Middle Paleocene, Brazil
- Pachybiotherium †, Early and Middle Miocene, Argentina, Colombia
- Pucadelphys †, early Paleocene, Bolivia
- Stilotherium †, late Oligocene and early Miocene, Argentina
supporting documents
- ^ A b c Eduardo Palma & Alejandro Valladares-Gómez: Family Microbiotheriidae (Monito del Monte). Pages 200-201 in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 5. Monotremes and Marsupials. Lynx Editions, 2015, ISBN 978-84-96553-99-6