A new early Miocene octodontoid rodent (Hystricognathi, Caviomorpha) from Patagonia (Argentina) and a reassessment of the early evolution of Octodontoidea

Abstract

A new caviomorph rodent, Dudumus ruigomezi, gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Sarmiento Formation, Trelew Member (early Miocene), of the Argentinian Patagonia. This new taxon is represented by upper and lower cheek teeth, mandible, and maxillary remains. It is characterized by retention of deciduous premolar, and low-crowned and terraced lower and upper cheek teeth with well-differentiated cusps, as in Caviocricetus lucasi; upper molariforms with the mesolophule and metacone fused with the posterior-most crest, as in C. lucasi; lower molars with lingual cusp enlarged and metalophulid II longer in m2 than in m1and m3, as in Prospaniomys priscus; and dp4 with metalophulid I separated from the metaconid and a spur projecting posterolingually from the posterior wall of metalophulid I, between the protoconid and anteroconid. The incisor enamel microstructure is derived, with the interprismatic matrix perpendicular (at a right angle) to the prisms, as in other octodontoids. A cladistic analysis corroborates that D. ruigomezi represents an octodontoid rodent with unusual tooth morphology. This analysis demonstrates that the early evolutionary history of Octodontoidea was characterized by the differentiation of successive lineages that survived until the early or middle Miocene, with no direct relationships with modern Octodontidae and Echimyidae. This analysis also suggests that fossil taxa previously classified as octodontoids are instead more closely related to the other caviomorph rodents.