Topic
Anomalurus
About: Anomalurus is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 8 publications have been published within this topic receiving 132 citations.
Papers
TL;DR: Two new taxa of African Paleogene anomaluroids from sites in the Sirt Basin of central Libya are described, including a new Eocene species of the nementchamyid genus Kabirmys, which ranks among the oldest African anomalurids recovered to date, and a new genus and species of Anomaluridae from the early Oligocene, which appears to be closely related to extant Zenkerella, the only living non-volant anomalurid.
Abstract: Anomaluroid rodents show interesting biogeographic and macroevolutionary patterns, although their fossil record is meager and knowledge of the natural history of extant members of the clade remains inadequate. Living anomaluroids (Anomaluridae) are confined to equatorial parts of western and central Africa, but the oldest known fossil anomaluroid (Pondaungimys) comes from the late middle Eocene of Myanmar. The first appearance of anomaluroids in the African fossil record coincides with the first appearances of hystricognathous rodents and anthropoid primates there. Both of the latter taxa are widely acknowledged to have originated in Asia, suggesting that anomaluroids may show a concordant biogeographic pattern. Here we describe two new taxa of African Paleogene anomaluroids from sites in the Sirt Basin of central Libya. These include a new Eocene species of the nementchamyid genus Kabirmys, which ranks among the oldest African anomaluroids recovered to date, and a new genus and species of Anomaluridae from the early Oligocene, which appears to be closely related to extant Zenkerella, the only living non-volant anomalurid. Phylogenetic analyses incorporating the new Libyan fossils suggest that anomaluroids are not specially related to Zegdoumyidae, which are the only African rodents known to antedate the first appearance of anomaluroids there. The evolution of gliding locomotion in Anomaluridae appears to conflict with traditional assessments of relationships among living anomalurid taxa. If the historically accepted division of Anomaluridae into Anomalurinae (extant and Miocene Anomalurus and Miocene Paranomalurus) and Zenkerellinae (extant and Miocene Zenkerella and extant Idiurus) is correct, then either gliding locomotion evolved independently in Anomalurinae and Idiurus or non-volant Zenkerella evolved from a gliding ancestor. Anatomical data related to gliding in Anomaluridae are more consistent with a nontraditional systematic arrangement, whereby non-volant Zenkerella is the sister group of a clade including both Anomalurus and Idiurus.
23 citations
1 Aug 2015
18 citations
TL;DR: This study demonstrates the utility of NGS for obtaining new mitochondrial genomes as well as the importance of choosing adequate models of sequence evolution to infer the phylogeny of rodents.
16 citations
TL;DR: Five of the seven modern species of the family Anomaluridae have been studied and significant intergeneric differences in the structure of the tongue between Anomalurus and Idiurus have been identified.
Abstract: Five of the seven modern species of the family Anomaluridae have been studied. Significant intergeneric differences in the structure of the tongue between Anomalurus and Idiurus have been identified. These differences affect even such taxonomically important features as the number of circumvallate papillae (three in Anomalurus and two in Idiurus) and the distribution pattern of fungiform papillae. A parallel interspecific variability has been observed within the genera. It manifests itself in a decrease in the total number of fungiform papillae. The tongue structure in Anomalurus corresponds to the generalized version, initial for the order, whereas in Idiurus, it has clear signs of morphological and functional specializations.
3 citations
TL;DR: Isolated teeth of Shazurus and other Eocene anomaluroids reveal little about their palaeobiology, but the complete absence of Anomaluroidea from the younger (late Eocene to early Oligocene) Jebel Qatrani Formation is presumably a reflection of environmental change through the late Eocene in northern Africa.
Abstract: A new genus and species of diminutive anomalurid rodent, Shazurus minutus, is described on the basis of 15 isolated teeth from the earliest late Eocene (approximately 37 Ma) Birket Qarun Locality 2 in the Fayum Depression of northern Egypt. Shazurus is surprisingly specialized for its age, being most similar in dental morphology to early Miocene Paranomalurus and extant Anomalurus, and is quite different from the roughly contemporaneous anomaluroid genera Nementchamys and Pondaungimys from Algeria and Myanmar, respectively. Parsimony analysis of dental features places Shazurus within crown Anomaluridae as a sister group of two species of Paranomalurus to the exclusion of extant Anomalurus and Idiurus. The marked morphological differences between the two oldest Afro-Arabian anomaluroids (Shazurus and Nementchamys) suggest that the taxa share a much more ancient common Afro-Arabian ancestor, possibly derived from Zegdoumyidae. Isolated teeth of Shazurus and other Eocene anomaluroids reveal little about their palaeobiology, but the complete absence of Anomaluroidea from the younger (late Eocene to early Oligocene) Jebel Qatrani Formation is presumably a reflection of environmental change through the late Eocene in northern Africa.
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2015 | 2 |
| 2013 | 1 |
| 2010 | 1 |
| 1992 | 1 |