As everyone knows, beavers and pocket gophers are closely related
Today’s post
expands on an earlier post that linked beavers with manatees, both derived from the Plesiadapiformes.
Today the skull of the pocket gopher, Thomomys, is compared to the skull of the beaver, Castor (Fig 1). The similarity is a strong one and the link is a traditional one under the clade name Castorimorpha = beavers, pocket gophers and kangaroo rats (but not Moertherium + manatees, because that connection was made only this month).
Figure 1. Skulls of the beaver, Castor, and the naked mole rat, Thomomys, compare well. Not to scale.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/castor.thomomys.skull_.3views588.jpg?w=260″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/castor.thomomys.skull_.3views588.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-90627″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/castor.thomomys.skull_.3views588.jpg” alt=”Figure 1. Skulls of the beaver, Castor, and the naked mole rat, Thomomys, compare well. Not to scale. ” width=”584″ height=”673″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/castor.thomomys.skull_.3views588.jpg?w=584&h=673 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/castor.thomomys.skull_.3views588.jpg?w=130&h=150 130w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/castor.thomomys.skull_.3views588.jpg?w=260&h=300 260w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/castor.thomomys.skull_.3views588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 1. Skulls of the beaver, Castor, and the naked mole rat, Thomomys, compare well. Not to scale.
Which brings us to
Heterocephalus, the naked mole rat (Fig 2), a native of Eastern Africa (Kenya), another burrowing gopher tested in the large reptile tree (LRT, 2328 taxa). If you haven’t noticed, that means we have burrowing gophers on both sides of the Atlantic.
So how far back in time do burrowing gophers go? Prior to the South American/African split that created the Atlantic Ocean? Seems so.
Figure 1. The naked mole rat, Heterocephalus is closer to hedgehogs than to rats.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/heterocephalus588invivo.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/heterocephalus588invivo.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-32227″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/heterocephalus588invivo.jpg” alt=”Figure 1. The naked mole rat, Heterocephalus is closer to hedgehogs than to rats.” width=”584″ height=”352″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/heterocephalus588invivo.jpg?w=584&h=352 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/heterocephalus588invivo.jpg?w=150&h=90 150w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/heterocephalus588invivo.jpg?w=300&h=181 300w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/heterocephalus588invivo.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 2. The naked mole rat, Heterocephalus is closer to hedgehogs than to rats.
The time-tree of caviomorph rodents
(Western Hemisphere taxa, not to be confused with castriomorph rodents) recovered by Upham and Patterson included Heterocephalus as an outgroup. Those authors figure caviomorphs extend back only the Middle Eocene, 44.9 mya using genomic data.
Seems not old enough.
Figure 2. Naked mole rat (Heterocephalus) skull in several view. The mandibles are disarticulated here, but the glenoid appears to be reduced to absent, providing great mobility to the jaws.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/naked_mole_rat_skull_heterocephalus_glaber588.jpg?w=257″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/naked_mole_rat_skull_heterocephalus_glaber588.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-32228″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/naked_mole_rat_skull_heterocephalus_glaber588.jpg” alt=”Figure 2. Naked mole rat (Heterocephalus) skull in several view. The mandibles are disarticulated here, but the glenoid appears to be reduced to absent, providing great mobility to the jaws.” width=”584″ height=”681″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/naked_mole_rat_skull_heterocephalus_glaber588.jpg?w=584&h=681 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/naked_mole_rat_skull_heterocephalus_glaber588.jpg?w=129&h=150 129w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/naked_mole_rat_skull_heterocephalus_glaber588.jpg?w=257&h=300 257w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/naked_mole_rat_skull_heterocephalus_glaber588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 2. Naked mole rat (Heterocephalus) skull in several view. The mandibles are disarticulated here, but the glenoid appears to be reduced to absent, providing great mobility to the jaws.
In the LRT
beavers and manatees (castriomorphs) are the most primitive rodents. Next comes porcupines. Then squirrels + rats split from burrowing gophers + kangaroo rats and the largest rodents, including the caviomorphs. The aye-aye (Daubentonia) is an extant outgroup taxon, also an outgroup to the Multituberculata.
So that mixes things up a bit.
References
Upham NS and Patterson BD 2015. Evolution of the caviomorph rodents: a complete phylogeny and timetree of living genera. SAREM Series A – Mammalogical Research 1:63–
wiki/Caviomorpha
wiki/Castorimorpha
wiki/Hystricognathi
wiki/Rodent
wiki/Gopher – Geomyidae
wiki/Beaver
wiki/Naked_mole-rat
wiki/Horned_gopher
wiki/Smooth-toothed_pocket_gopher
Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2024/12/25/as-everyone-knows-beavers-and-pocket-gophers-are-closely-related/
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