Remove ads

Ptolemaiida is a taxon of wolf-sized afrothere mammals that lived in northern and eastern Africa during the Paleogene. The oldest fossils are from the latest Eocene strata of the Jebel Qatrani Formation, near the Fayum oasis in Egypt.[1] A tooth is known from an Oligocene-aged stratum in Angola,[2] and Miocene specimens (of Kelba) are known from Kenya and Uganda. [3]

Quick Facts Ptolemaiida Temporal range: Latest Eocene to ?Miocene, Scientific classification ...
Ptolemaiida
Temporal range: Latest Eocene to ?Miocene
Thumb
Lower jaw of Ptolemaia lyonsi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Superorder: Afrotheria
Grandorder: Afroinsectiphilia
Order: Ptolemaiida
Simons & Bown, 1995
Families and genera
Close

The origin of the Ptolemaiida is obscure, and debated. The type species was originally thought to be a primate, but, later, when elongated skulls with long canines of Ptolemaia and Qarunavus were found, they were then thought to be hyaenodontids, or giant, carnivorous relatives of the pantolestids Palaeosinopa, and of modern shrews[4] The family Ptolemaiidae was elevated to order level in 1995,[1] although some experts later placed the Ptolemaiidae within the pantolestids.[5]

Recently, Ptolemaiida has been placed within Afrotheria[6] on the basis of paleobiology, as the taxon was endemic to Africa, and because of some similarities in the anatomical features of the skull in common with aardvarks.[7][8] It is currently unclear if they form a sister taxon to Tubulidentata or are a paraphyletic sequence leading to them. Regardless, their close relation may offer the possibility for true dental synapomorphies in Afroinsectiphilia.[7][8] A posterior study on ptolemaiidan dentitions further reinforces these results.[9]

Recently, there has been a reconsideration of the ptolemaiidan diet, and possible behavior, as wear on the teeth suggest that it crushed hard or abrasive food, and that the teeth had little or no shearing ability. Even so, some sources still refer to them as being gigantic, carnivorous shrews.[10]

Remove ads

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.

Remove ads