Palaeoryctidae

Palaeoryctidae ("ancient diggers") is an extinct family of non-specialized eutherian mammals from extinct order Palaeoryctida, that lived in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa from the late Cretaceous to the middle Eocene.

Palaeoryctidae Temporal range: Late Cretaceous - Middle Eocene
Palaeoryctes jepseni lower jaw fragment
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Clade:	Eutheria
Infraclass:	Placentalia (?)
Order:	†Palaeoryctida Averianov, 2003
Family:	†Palaeoryctidae Winge, 1917
Type genus
†Palaeoryctes Matthew, 1913
Genera
[see classification]
Synonyms
synonyms of family: Palaeoryctae (Winge, 1917) Palaeoryctinae (Van Valen, 1966) Palaeoryctoidea (Van Valen, 1966)

Description

From a near-complete skull of the genus Palaeoryctes found in New Mexico, it is known that palaeoryctids were small, shrew-like insectivores with an elongated snout similar to that of the leptictids. However, in contrast to the latter, little is known about palaeoryctids' postcranial anatomy (the skeleton without the skull). A 2024 study found shared cranial details between palaeoryctids and leptictids, suggesting a possible close relationship, plesiomorphic retentions, or convergent acquisitions. Where the leptictids were short-lived, the palaeoryctids seem to have been ancestors of Eocene species. While their dental morphology still indicate a mostly insectivorous diet, it, to some extent, also relate to Eocene carnivores such as creodonts.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

History of phylogeny

The relationship between this archaic group and other insectivorous mammals is uncertain. Palaeoryctidae was originally assigned to the now-abandoned grouping Insectivora by Sloan and Van Valen (1965), then to clade Proteutheria, and more recently to Eutheria by Scott et al. (2002).

Generally speaking Palaeoryctidae has been used as a wastebasket taxon for many archaic insectivorous mammals.

According to a 2022 study by Bertrand et al., palaeoryctids are identified to be a basal group of placental mammals.

Taxonomy

• Order: †Palaeoryctida (Averianov, 2003)
  • Family: †Palaeoryctidae (Winge, 1917)
    • Genus: †Aceroryctes (Rankin & Holroyd, 2014)
      • †Aceroryctes dulcis (Rankin & Holroyd, 2014)
    • Genus: †Lainoryctes (Fox, 2004)
      • †Lainoryctes youzwyshyni (Fox, 2004)
    • Genus: †Nuryctes (Tong, 2003)
      • †Nuryctes alayensis (Lopatin & Averianov, 2004)
      • †Nuryctes gobiensis (Lopatin & Averianov, 2004)
      • †Nuryctes qinlingensis (Tong, 1997)
    • Genus: †Pinoryctes (Lopatin, 2006)
      • †Pinoryctes collector (Lopatin, 2006)
    • Subfamily: †Palaeoryctinae^{(paraphyletic subfamily)} (Winge, 1917)
      • Genus: †Aaptoryctes (Gingerich, 1982)
        • †Aaptoryctes ivyi (Gingerich, 1982)
      • Genus: †Eoryctes (Thewissen & Gingerich, 1989)
        • †Eoryctes melanus (Thewissen & Gingerich, 1989)
      • Genus: †Ottoryctes (Bloch, 2004)
        • †Ottoryctes winkleri (Bloch, 2004)
      • Genus: †Palaeoryctes^{(paraphyletic genus)} (Matthew, 1913)
        • †Palaeoryctes cruoris (Gunnell, 1994)
        • †Palaeoryctes jepseni (Bloch, 2004)
        • †Palaeoryctes minimus (Gheerbrant, 1992)
        • †Palaeoryctes puercensis (Matthew, 1913)
        • †Palaeoryctes punctatus (Van Valen, 1966)

Phylogeny

Placentalia

†Taeniodonta †Alveugena †Procerberidae †Ambilestes Atlantogenata Boreoeutheria  †Palaeoryctida    †Palaeoryctidae    †Nuryctes  †Nuryctes alayensis †Nuryctes gobiensis †Nuryctes qinlingensis  †Pinoryctes  †Pinoryctes collector  ?  †Palaeoryctes minimus †Palaeoryctes puercensis  †Palaeoryctes  †Palaeoryctes jepseni †Palaeoryctes punctatus †Palaeoryctes cruoris  †Aaptoryctes  †Aaptoryctes ivyi †Palaeoryctinae  †Eoryctes  †Eoryctes melanus  †Ottoryctes  †Ottoryctes winkleri  †Aceroryctes  †Aceroryctes dulcis  †Lainoryctes  †Lainoryctes youzwyshyni

References

• Agustí, Jordi; Antón, Mauricio (2002). Mammoths, Sabertooths, and Hominids: 65 Million Years of Mammalian Evolution in Europe. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11640-3.
• Gingerich, Philip D. (December 1982). "Aaptoryctes (Palaeoryctidae) and Thelysia (Palaeoryctidae?); New Insectivorous Mammals from the Late Paleocene and Early Eocene of Western North America" (PDF). Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology. 26 (3). University of Michigan: 37–47.

External links

• "Family: Palaeoryctidae: Occurrence overview". GDIF. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
• "†Palaeoryctidae". Mikko's Phylogeny Archive. Retrieved 17 January 2010.