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Taxa

Diatomyidae

Mammal Families

Diatomyidae is a family of rodents related to the gundis, known almost entirely from fossils until a single living species, the Laotian rock rat, was discovered in Laos. Fossil diatomyids have turned up in Pakistan, India, Thailand, China, Japan and Serbia, but the family had been presumed extinct for about 11 million years before the living species was found, making it a Lazarus taxon. Its teeth show a rare combination of hystricomorphous and sciurognathous features, including multiserial enamel on the incisors and an enlarged single premolar in both jaws.

Facts
Classification
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Taxonomic Rank
Family 2
Connections

Parent Taxon Of

Source Laotian rock rat (Wikidata)
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ905019, descriptionView the Source
2. Wikipedia: Diatomyidae
WikipediaIntroduction
Quote, Introduction
Diatomyidae is a family of hystricomorph rodents.
View the Source
Wikidata: Diatomyidae
Wikidata Q905019, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Laotian rock rat (Wikidata)
WikidataParent Taxon Of: Laotian rock rat, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chainView the Source
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