Ptilodontoidea
| Ptilodontoidea | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Skull of Ptilodus | |
|
Fossil
|
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Multituberculata |
| Superfamily: | Ptilodontoidea |
| Families | |
|
|
Ptilodontoidea is a group of extinct mammals from the Northern Hemisphere. They were generally small, somewhat rodent-like creatures of the extinct order Multituberculata.
Some of these genera boast a great many species, though remains are generally sparse. Ptilodus is among the best known, and there's a tendency to depict it as an analog of a squirrel.
Upper Cretaceous remains are known from North America and Europe. Later representatives (Paleocene - Eocene) hail from North America, Europe and Asia. These were some of the last multituberculates, and they are within the suborder Cimolodonta.
The superfamily is further divided into the following families:
The affinities of Neoliotomus are less clear, though it seems to fit somewhere within the superfamily.
...
Wikipedia