Agnotocastor is an extinct member of the beaver family Castoridae.[1][2] Unlike its modern relative, this species took the place of muskrats in the rivers of North America during the Oligocene epoch. The earliest species is A. galushai, which is also the first reliable member of the Castoridae.[3] It is known chiefly from North America, with a single record from Central Asia.[1]

Agnotocastor
Temporal range: Late EoceneEarly Oligocene, 37.2–26.3 Ma[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Castoridae
Tribe: Agnotocastorini
Genus: Agnotocastor
Stirton, 1935
Type species
Agnotocastor praetereadens
Species
  • A. coloradensis
  • A. galushai
  • A. montanus
  • A. praetereadens
  • A. readingi

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "†Agnotocastor Stirton 1935". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  2. ^ Rybczynski, N. (27 December 2006). "Castorid phylogenetics: implications for the evolution of swimming and tree-exploitation in beavers". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 14 (1): 1–35. doi:10.1007/s10914-006-9017-3. S2CID 33659669.
  3. ^ Emry, Robert J. (1972). "A new species of Agnotocastor (Rodentia, Castoridae) from the early Oligocene of Wyoming". American Museum Novitates (2485): 1–7.