New cricetid rodent found from the early Oligocene of Yunnan, China
The cricetids, including extant hamsters, constitute one of the most diverse families of rodents. The Eurasian Paleogene and early Neogene cricetid rodents are very diverse, but the phylogenetic relationships among these cricetids remain unsolved. Discovery of more specimens of these basal cricetids will help to resolve their systematic position. In an article published in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33(1), Drs. Olivier Maridet and NI Xijun, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, reported a new early Oligocene cricetid, Paracricetops virgatoincisus, from the Caijiachong locality in Yunnan Province, China. Their phylogenetic analysis including Paracricetops and other early cricetids not only asserts the systematic position of this new cricetid and illuminates the phylogenetic relationships among other cricetids, but also casts new lights on the origin and early radiation of the family Cricetidae.