Phylogenetic relationships and Miocene diversification of the extinct rodent subfamily Democricetodontinae (Cricetidae)
Abstract
Democricetodontinae is an extinct subfamily of cricetid rodents that played an important role in the early evolutionary history of Cricetidae during the Oligocene and Miocene. Despite its relevance, phylogenetic relationships within the subfamily and the delimitation of several genera remain poorly resolved. Here, we present the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Democricetodontinae, including all currently recognized genera and the majority of described species for which diagnostic dental material is available. Bayesian inference based on morphological dental characters was applied to fossil taxa from Eurasia and North America. The analysis recovers Primus as the most basal genus of the subfamily, while Spanocricetodon and Democricetodon sui require further taxonomic reassessment. Several early Anatolian species traditionally assigned to Democricetodon occupy basal positions, highlighting a central role of Anatolia in the early diversification of the group and suggesting that some taxa represent previously unrecognized lineages. The analyses recover separate major lineages corresponding broadly to Copemys and Democricetodon, although neither genus appears to match its current taxonomic definition and several species likely require generic reassignment. Overall, these findings reveal a more complex evolutionary history for Democricetodontinae than previously recognized. They emphasize the need for a comprehensive taxonomic revision of the subfamily and provide a robust phylogenetic framework for future studies on early cricetid evolution.
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BibTeX
@article{lucia2026phylogenetic,
title = {{Phylogenetic relationships and Miocene diversification of the extinct rodent subfamily Democricetodontinae (Cricetidae)}},
author = {Rodríguez-Sualdea Lucía and Raquel López-Antoñanzas and M. Ángeles Álvarez-Sierra and Pablo Peláez-Campomanes},
journal = {Journal of Systematic Palaeontology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.6084/m9.figshare.34364932.v1},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05793566v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Phylogenetic relationships and Miocene diversification of the extinct rodent subfamily Democricetodontinae (Cricetidae)
AU - Rodríguez-Sualdea Lucía
AU - Raquel López-Antoñanzas
AU - M. Ángeles Álvarez-Sierra
AU - Pablo Peláez-Campomanes
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Journal of Systematic Palaeontology
DO - 10.6084/m9.figshare.34364932.v1
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05793566v1
AB - Democricetodontinae is an extinct subfamily of cricetid rodents that played an important role in the early evolutionary history of Cricetidae during the Oligocene and Miocene. Despite its relevance, phylogenetic relationships within the subfamily and the delimitation of several genera remain poorly resolved. Here, we present the first comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Democricetodontinae, including all currently recognized genera and the majority of described species for which diagnostic dental material is available. Bayesian inference based on morphological dental characters was applied to fossil taxa from Eurasia and North America. The analysis recovers Primus as the most basal genus of the subfamily, while Spanocricetodon and Democricetodon sui require further taxonomic reassessment. Several early Anatolian species traditionally assigned to Democricetodon occupy basal positions, highlighting a central role of Anatolia in the early diversification of the group and suggesting that some taxa represent previously unrecognized lineages. The analyses recover separate major lineages corresponding broadly to Copemys and Democricetodon, although neither genus appears to match its current taxonomic definition and several species likely require generic reassignment. Overall, these findings reveal a more complex evolutionary history for Democricetodontinae than previously recognized. They emphasize the need for a comprehensive taxonomic revision of the subfamily and provide a robust phylogenetic framework for future studies on early cricetid evolution.
SN - 1477-2019
SN - 1478-0941
ER -