Herpetotheriidae

Herpetotheriidae
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous - Miocene 66–20 Ma

[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]

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

References

Literature cited

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, September 04, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.