Herpetotheriidae

Herpetotheriidae is an extinct family of metatherians. Although sometimes placed in the living opossum family (Didelphidae, as a subfamily Herpetotheriinae), they may form the sister clade to all living marsupials.[1] Species of this family are generally reconstructed as terrestrial.[2] Fossils of herpetotheriids come from North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and perhaps South America. The oldest representative is Maastrichtidelphys from the latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of the Netherlands[3] and the youngest member is Amphiperatherium from the Middle Miocene of Europe.[4]

Herpetotheriidae
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous - Miocene 66–20 Ma
[1]
Herpetotherium
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Clade: Marsupialiformes
Family: †Herpetotheriidae
Trouessart, 1879
Genera

See text.

Synonyms

Herpetotheriinae

The family includes the following genera:[5]

  • Amphiperatherium (Early Eocene to Middle Miocene, Europe; synonyms: Oxygomphius, Microtarsioides, Ceciliolemur)
  • Asiadidelphis (Late Eocene to Early Oligocene, Kazakhstan and Pakistan)[6]
  • Copedelphys (Late Eocene to Early Oligocene, North America)
  • Entomacodon (Middle Eocene, North America; synonym: Centracodon)
  • Golerdelphys (Late Paleocene, North America)[7]
  • Galatiadelphys (Middle Eocene, Turkey)
  • Herpetotherium (Early Eocene to Middle Miocene, North America)
  • Maastrichtidelphys (Maastrichtian, Europe)[8]
  • Nortedelphys (Lancian, North America)[9]
  • Peratherium (Early Eocene to Early Miocene, Europe; Early Oligocene, Africa;[10] synonyms: Alacodon, Qatranitherium)
  • Swaindelphys (Early Paleocene, North America)

The following genera have been placed in the family, but their placement is disputed or obsolete:

  • Garatherium (Early Eocene of Algeria) – possibly an adapisoriculid eutherian[11]
  • Indodelphis (Early Eocene of India) – originally referred to Peradectidae[12]
  • Jaegeria (Early Eocene of India) – a bat[13]
  • Rumiodon (Paleogene of Peru) – placement uncertain[14]

References
  1. Asher et al. 2007, p. 318.
  2. Asher et al. 2007, p. 322.
  3. Martin 2005, p. 497; Asher 2007, p. 318.
  4. Mörs, von der Hocht & Wutzler 2000, p. 159.
  5. McKenna & Bell 1997, pp. 69–70.
  6. Crochet et al. 2007, pp. 634–635.
  7. Thomas E. Williamson; Donald L. Lofgren (2014). "Late Paleocene (Tiffanian) metatherians from the Goler Formation, California". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34 (2): 477–482. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.804413.
  8. Martin et al. 2005.
  9. Case, Goin & Woodburne 2005, pp. 473–482.
  10. Hooker et al. 2008.
  11. Hooker et al. 2008, p. 635.
  12. Crochet et al. 2007, p. 635.
  13. Smith et al. 2007, p. 1008.
  14. Goin & Candela 2004, p. 18.

Literature cited
  • Sánchez-Villagra, M.; Ladevèze, S.; Horovitz, I.; Argot, C.; Hooker, J. J.; MacRini, T. E.; Martin, T.; Moore-Fay, S.; De Muizon, C.; Schmelzle, T.; Asher, R. J. (2007). "Exceptionally preserved North American Paleogene metatherians: Adaptations and discovery of a major gap in the opossum fossil record". Biology Letters. 3 (3): 318–322. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0090. PMC 2390683. PMID 17426007.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Case, J.A.; Goin, F.J.; Woodburne, M.O. (2005). ""South American" marsupials from the Late Cretaceous of North America and the origin of marsupial cohorts". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 12 (3–4): 461–494. doi:10.1007/s10914-005-7329-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Crochet, J. -Y.; Antoine, P. -O.; Benammi, M.; Iqbal, N.; Marivaux, L.; Métais, G.; Welcomme, J. -L. (2007). "A herpetotheriid marsupial from the Oligocene of Bugti Hills, Balochistan, Pakistan". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 52 (3): 633–637.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Goin, F. J.; Candela, A. M. (2004). "New Paleogene marsupials from the Amazon Basin of eastern Perú". Science Series, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. 40: 15–60.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hooker, J.J.; Sánchez-Villagra, M.R.; Goin, F.J.; Simons, E.L.; Attia, Y.; Seiffert, E.R. (2008). "The origin of Afro-Arabian 'didelphimorph' marsupials". Palaeontology. 51 (3): 635–648. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00779.x.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Martin, J.E.; Case, J.A.; Jagt, J.W.M.; Schulp, A.S.; Mulder, E.W.A. (2005). "A new European marsupial indicates a Late Cretaceous high-latitude Transatlantic dispersal route". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 12 (3–4): 495–511. doi:10.1007/s10914-005-7330-x.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • McKenna, M. C.; Bell, S. K. (1997). Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press. p. 631. ISBN 978-0-231-11013-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Mörs, T.; Hocht, F.; Wutzler, B. (2000). "Die erste Wirbeltierfauna aus der miozänen Braunkohle der Niederrheinischen Bucht (Ville-Schichten, Tagebau Hambach)". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 74 (1–2): 145–170. doi:10.1007/BF02987958.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Smith, T.; Rana, R. S.; Missiaen, P.; Rose, K. D.; Sahni, A.; Singh, H.; Singh, L. (2007). "High bat (Chiroptera) diversity in the Early Eocene of India". Naturwissenschaften. 94 (12): 1003–1009. Bibcode:2007NW.....94.1003S. doi:10.1007/s00114-007-0280-9. PMID 17671774.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)


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