Epoicotheriidae

Epoicotheriidae Temporal range: late Paleocene - early Oligocene
Artist reconstruction of Xenocranium pileorivale compared to the size of a human hand.
skull of Pentapassalus pearcei
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Palaeanodonta
Family:	†Epoicotheriidae Simpson, 1927
Type genus
†Epoicotherium Simpson, 1927
Genera
[see classification]

Epoicotheriidae ("strange beasts") is an extinct paraphyletic family of insectivorous placental mammals within extinct order Palaeanodonta, that lived in North America, Asia and Europe from the late Paleocene to early Oligocene. Epoicotheriids were fossorial mammals. Late Eocene/early Oligocene genera were highly specialized animals that were convergent with the talpids, golden moles and marsupial mole in the structure of their skulls and forelimbs, and would have had a similar lifestyle as subterranean burrowers.

Classification and phylogeny

Taxonomy

Epoicotheriidae was named by Simpson in 1927. It was assigned to the Palaeanodonta by Rose (1978) and Carroll (1988).

Classification

• Family: †Epoicotheriidae ^{(paraphyletic family)} (Simpson, 1927)
  • Genus: †Alocodontulum (Rose, 1978)
    • †Alocodontulum atopum (Rose, 1977)
  • Genus: †Amelotabes (Rose, 1978)
    • †Amelotabes simpsoni (Rose, 1978)
  • Genus: †Auroratherium (Tong & Wang, 1997)
    • †Auroratherium sinense (Tong & Wang, 1997)
  • Genus: †Dipassalus (Rose, 1991)
    • †Dipassalus oryctes (Rose, 1991)
  • Genus: †Tubulodon (Jepsen, 1932)
    • †Tubulodon taylori (Jepsen, 1932)
  • Subfamily: †Epoicotheriinae ^{(paraphyletic subfamily)} (Simpson, 1927)
    • Genus: †Pentapassalus (Gazin, 1952)
      • †Pentapassalus pearcei (Gazin, 1952)
      • †Pentapassalus woodi (Guthrie, 1967)
    • Genus: †Tetrapassalus (Simpson, 1959)
      • †Tetrapassalus mckennai (Simpson, 1959)
      • †Tetrapassalus proius (West, 1973)
      • †Tetrapassalus sp. A [AMNH 10215] (Rose, 1978)
      • †Tetrapassalus sp. B (Robinson, 1963)
    • (unranked): †Epoicotherium/Xenocranium clade
      • Genus: †Epoicotherium (Simpson, 1927)
        • †Epoicotherium unicum (Douglass, 1905)
      • Genus: †Molaetherium (Storch & Rummel, 1999)
        • †Molaetherium heissigi (Storch & Rummel, 1999)
      • Genus: †Xenocranium (Colbert, 1942)
        • †Xenocranium pileorivale (Colbert, 1942)

Phylogenetic tree

The phylogenetic relationships of family Epoicotheriidae are shown in the following cladogram:

Ferae	Pan-Carnivora  Pholidotamorpha  Pholidota (sensu stricto)  †Palaeanodonta  †Escavadodontidae  ?  †Melaniella †Ernanodontidae †Metacheiromys †Metacheiromyinae  †Palaeanodon †Brachianodon †Mylanodon †Propalaeanodontinae  ?  †Arcticanodon  †Pentapassalus  †Pentapassalus pearcei †Pentapassalus woodi  †Alocodontulum  †Alocodontulum atopum  †Auroratherium  †Auroratherium sinensis  †Tubulodon  †Tubulodon taylori  †Dipassalus  †Dipassalus oryctes †Epoicotheriinae  †Tetrapassalus  †Tetrapassalus mckennai †Tetrapassalus proius †Tetrapassalus sp. A (AMNH 10215) †Tetrapassalus sp. B  †Xenocranium  †Xenocranium pileorivale  †Epoicotherium  †Epoicotherium unicum  †Molaetherium  †Molaetherium heissigi †Epoicotheriidae  †Amelotabes  †Amelotabes simpsoni  (Pholidota [sensu lato])	†Metacheiromyidae †Epoicotherium/Xenocranium clade

See also

• Mammal classification
• Palaeanodonta