Epoicotheriidae

Epoicotheriidae Temporal range: 57.8–30.9  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N 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[1]
Type genus
†Epoicotherium Simpson, 1927
Genera[2]
[see classification]

Epoicotheriidae ("strange beasts") is an

Epoicotheriidae was named by Simpson in 1927. It was assigned to the Palaeanodonta by Rose (1978)^[4] 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:^[5][6][7]

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

References