Leptictis
Leptictis Temporal range:Late EocenetoEarly Oligocene,
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Leptictiscf.acutidens | |
Scientific classification![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | †Leptictida |
Family: | †Leptictidae |
Subfamily: | †Leptictinae |
Genus: | †Leptictis Leidy,1868 |
Type species | |
†Lepticitis haydeni Leidy, 1868
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Species | |
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Leptictis_dakotensis24DB.jpg/220px-Leptictis_dakotensis24DB.jpg)
Leptictisis an extinct genus ofleptictidnon-placentaleutherianmammalknown from theLate EocenetoEarly Oligoceneof North America.[1]The type species,L. haydeni,was named in 1868 byJoseph Leidyin honour ofFerdinand Vandeveer Hayden.L. dakotensiswas also named by Leidy in 1868, but he originally named it as a separate genus,Ictops,which is now seen as the same animal asLepticitis.Since then, six other species have been named.[2][3]The hind limbs are proportionally elongated compared to their forelimbs similar toelephant shrews,though to a lesser degree thanLeptictidium,and it is suggested that they were capable of rapid bursts of quadrupedal locomotion, unlike the bipedal locomotion suggested forLeptictidium.The forelimbs were likely used for digging.[4]
References
[edit]- ^E. D. Cope.1873. Third Notice Of Extinct Vertebrata From The Tertiary of the Plains.Paleontological Bulletin16:1-8
- ^McKenna, Malcolm C., and Bell, Susan K. 1997.Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level.Columbia University Press, New York, 631 pp.ISBN0-231-11013-8
- ^Kenneth, D. R. (2006). The postcranial skeleton of early OligoceneLeptictis(Mammalia: Leptictida), with a preliminary comparison toLeptictidiumfrom themiddle EoceneofMessel.Palaeontographica AbteilungA, 278(1-6), 37–56.
- ^Ruf, Irina; Volpato, Virginie; Rose, Kenneth D.; Billet, Guillaume; de Muizon, Christian; Lehmann, Thomas (2016-01-20)."Digital reconstruction of the inner ear of Leptictidium auderiense (Leptictida, Mammalia) and North American leptictids reveals new insight into leptictidan locomotor agility".Paläontologische Zeitschrift.90(1): 153–171.doi:10.1007/s12542-015-0276-2.ISSN0031-0220.S2CID56166050.