Herpetotheriidae

Herpetotheriidae Temporal range: Late Cretaceous - Miocene 66–20 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N [1]
Herpetotherium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Metatheria
Family:	Herpetotheriidae Trouessart, 1879
Genera
See text.
Synonyms
Herpetotheriinae

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]

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)
• Herpetotherium (Early Eocene to Middle Miocene, North America)
• Maastrichtidelphys (Maastrichtian, Europe)^[7]
• Nortedelphys (Lancian, North America)^[8]
• Peratherium (Early Eocene to Early Miocene, Europe; Early Oligocene, Africa;^[9] 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^[10]
• Indodelphis (Early Eocene of India) – originally referred to Peradectidae^[11]
• Jaegeria (Early Eocene of India) – a bat^[12]
• Rumiodon (Paleogene of Peru) – placement uncertain^[13]

References

1. Asher et al. 2007, p. 318.
2. Asher et al. 2007, p. 322.
3. Martin et al. 2005, p. 497; Asher et al. 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. Martin et al. 2005.
8. Case, Goin & Woodburne 2005, pp. 473–482.
9. Hooker et al. 2008.
10. Hooker et al. 2008, p. 635.
11. Crochet et al. 2007, p. 635.
12. Smith et al. 2007, p. 1008.
13. 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.