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Extinct species of rodent From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Synaptomys australis, the Florida bog lemming, is an extinct species of bog lemming that occurred in Florida during the Late Pleistocene.
Synaptomys australis Temporal range: Pleistocene | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Cricetidae |
Subfamily: | Arvicolinae |
Genus: | Synaptomys |
Species: | †S. australis |
Binomial name | |
†Synaptomys australis (Simpsons, 1928)[1] | |
Although the bog lemmings are not indigenous to Florida at the present time, remains are known there from the Pleistocene, indicating the range of these normally cold-adapted rodents extended further south during glaciation events.[2] The Florida bog lemming was described from a lower jaw collected from Pleistocene deposits in 1928.[3] Its taxonomic status as a full species has been questioned however, with some researchers considering it a prehistoric race of the southern bog lemming.[4][5]
The Florida bog lemming was slightly larger than the living southern bog lemming.[4] It went extinct around 12,000 BP, as a result of glacial retreat and the return of very warm temperatures.
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