Neoplagiaulax
Encyclopedia
Neoplagiaulax is a mammal
genus
from the Paleocene
of Europe
and North America
. In the case of the latter continent, there may possibly be some slightly earlier, Upper Cretaceous
material too. It existed in the age immediately following the extinction of the last dinosaur
s. This animal was a member of the extinct order Multituberculata
, lying within the suborder Cimolodonta
and family Neoplagiaulacidae
.
The genus Neoplagiaulax ("new Plagiaulax
") was named by Lemoine V. in 1882. It is also known as Ectypodus? (partly); Plagiaulax (partly); and Ptilodus
(partly). This is something of a nomenclatural minefield. Some material has also been reassigned to Eucosmodon
.
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
from the Paleocene
Paleocene
The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...
of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. In the case of the latter continent, there may possibly be some slightly earlier, Upper Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
material too. It existed in the age immediately following the extinction of the last dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s. This animal was a member of the extinct order Multituberculata
Multituberculata
The Multituberculata were a group of rodent-like mammals that existed for approximately one hundred and twenty million years—the longest fossil history of any mammal lineage—but were eventually outcompeted by rodents, becoming extinct during the early Oligocene. At least 200 species are...
, lying within the suborder Cimolodonta
Cimolodonta
The Cimolodonta are a taxon of extinct mammals that lived from the Cretaceous to the Eocene. They were some of the more derived members of the extinct order Multituberculata. They probably lived something of a rodent-like existence until their ecological niche was assumed by true rodents...
and family Neoplagiaulacidae
Neoplagiaulacidae
Neoplagiaulacidae is a family of mammal within the extinct order Multituberculata. Fossil remains are known from the Upper Cretaceous through the Eocene. Representatives have been found in North America, Europe and Asia....
.
The genus Neoplagiaulax ("new Plagiaulax
Plagiaulax
Plagiaulax is a genus of mammal from the Lower Cretaceous of Europe. It was a member of the also extinct order Multituberculata, and shared the world with dinosaurs. It is of the suborder "Plagiaulacida" and family Plagiaulacidae. The genus was named by Hugh Falconer in 1857.Fossil remains of the...
") was named by Lemoine V. in 1882. It is also known as Ectypodus? (partly); Plagiaulax (partly); and Ptilodus
Ptilodus
Ptilodus is a genus of mammals from the extinct order of Multituberculata, and lived during the Paleocene in North America.Ptilodus was a relatively large multituberculate of in length, which is about the same size as a squirrel...
(partly). This is something of a nomenclatural minefield. Some material has also been reassigned to Eucosmodon
Eucosmodon
Eucosmodon is a genus of extinct mammal from the Paleocene of North America. It is a member of the extinct order of Multituberculata within the suborder of Cimolodonta, and the family Eucosmodontidae. This genus has partly also been known as Neoplagiaulax...
.
Species
- Neoplagiaulax annae (Vianey-Liaud M. 1986) has been found in PaleocenePaleoceneThe Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...
strataStratumIn geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
of CernayCernayCernay is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Cernay, Calvados, in the Calvados département*Cernay, Eure-et-Loir, in the Eure-et-Loir département*Cernay, Haut-Rhin, in the Haut-Rhin département...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
- ?Neoplagiaulax burgessi (Archibald J.D. 1982) has been found in MaastrichtianMaastrichtianThe Maastrichtian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the latest age or upper stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series, the Cretaceous period or system, and of the Mesozoic era or erathem. It spanned from 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma...
(Upper Cretaceous) strata of Hell Creek, USA.
- Neoplagiaulax copei (Lemoine V. 1885) has been found in Paleocene strata of Cernay, France. It has been cited as a possible descendant of N. hazeni.
- Neoplagiaulax donaldorum (Scott C.S., Krause D.W. 2006) found in early Tiffanian (late Paleocene) strata in eastern Crazy MountainsCrazy MountainsThe Crazy Mountains, often called the Crazies, are a mountain range in the northern Rocky Mountains in the U.S. state of Montana.-Geography:...
, MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49355/1/Vol%2031%20No10%20final%2011-15-06.pdf
- Neoplagiaulax eocaenus (Lemoine V. 1880)is also known as N. eocänus and Plagiaulax eocaenus. It was found in Upper Paleocene of Cernay, France. It has also been cited as a possible descendant of N. hazeni.
- Neoplagiaulax grangeri (Simpson G.G. 1935) (Gazin, 1969) is also known as Ectypodus? grangeri (Simpson, 1935). It was found in Torrejonian (Paleocene) of Gidley Quarry, MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
(USA). It was a further possible descendant of N. hazeni. Its weight was around 100 g, a quarter of that of a standard rat.
- Neoplagiaulax hazeni (Jepsen G.L. 1940; Krause D.W. 1977) is also known as Ectypodus hazeni (Jepsen G.L. 1940) and N. fractus (partially). It is known from the TiffanianTiffanianThe Tiffanian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology , typically set from 60,200,000 to 56,800,000 years BP lasting . It is usually considered to overlap the Selandian and Thanetian within the...
(Middle-Upper Paleocene) of Princeton Quarry, WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
and North DakotaNorth DakotaNorth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
(USA). Its body weight has been estimated at 95 g. Further material, including the type fossil, can be visited at the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
- Neoplagiaulax hunteri (Simpson G.G. 1936), (Krause DW, 1977) is also known as Ectypodus hunteri (Simpson, 1936).It was discovered in Torrejonian-Tiffanian (Middle Paleocene) strata of Scarritt Quarry in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota and AlbertaAlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Several specimens are at the Peabody Museum of Yale, where the name E. is sometimes employed. It likely weighed about 45 g.
- Neoliotomus jepi (Sloan R.E. 1987) is known from the Tiffanian (Paleocene) of Cedar Point Quarry, Wyoming (USA).
- Neoplagiaulax kremnus (Johnston P.A. and Fox R.C. 1984) was found in Puercan (Lower Paleocene) strata of Rav W-1 in SaskatchewanSaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Canada. The holotype is in the collection of the University of AlbertaUniversity of AlbertaThe University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
.
- Neoplagiaulax macintyrei (Sloan R.E. 1981) was found in Puercan (Lower Paleocene) San Juan BasinSan Juan BasinThe San Juan Basin is a geologic structural basin in the Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States; its main portion covers around , encompassing much of northwestern New Mexico, southwest Colorado, and parts of Arizona and Utah....
of New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
(USA).
- Neoliotomus macrotomeus (Wilson 1956; Sloan 1987) is also known as Ectypodus macrotomeus (Wilson 1956. It was found in Puercan-Torrejonian (Lower Paleocene) strata of the San Juan Basin of New Mexico (USA). It is possibly derived from Mesodma formosa. It weighed about 15 g.
- Neoplagiaulax mckennai (Sloan R.E. 1987)is also known as N. mckennaiai. It was found in Tiffanian (Middle-Upper Paleocene) strata of Love Quarry in Wyoming and North Dakota. It weighed an estimated 60 g.
- Neoplagiaulax nelsoni (Sloan R.E. 1987)was discovered in the Puercan-Torrejonian (Middle-Upper Paleocene) strata of Wyoming and Purgatory Hill of Montana and Alberta. The type fossil is from Keefer Hill (a.k.a. Shotgun) Wyoming. This species was mouseMouseA mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
-sized, weighing about 25 g.
- Neoplagiaulax nicolai (Vianey-Liaud M. 1986) was discovered in Paleocene strata of Cernay, France.
- Neoplagiaulax sylvani (Vianey-Liaud M. 1986) was found in Paleocene strata of Cernay, France.