Overview of Cenozoic Eurasian lagomorph biochronology and radiation
| Pages | 312–318 |
|---|---|
| DOI | 10.37520/fi.2024.023 |
| Keywords | Lagomorpha, Ochotonidae, Leporidae, biochronology, biodiversity, late Cenozoic, Eurasia |
| Type of Article | Peer-reviewed |
| Citation | ERBAJEVA, Margarita A., GÖHLICH, Ursusla B., FLYNN, Lawrence J. a ALEXEEVA, Nadia V.. Overview of Cenozoic Eurasian lagomorph biochronology and radiation. Fossil Imprint / Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae, Series B – Historia Naturalis. Prague: National Museum, 2024, 80(2), 312–318. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37520/fi.2024.023. ISSN 2533-4050 (tisk), 2533-4069 (online). Also available from: https://publikace.nm.cz/en/periodicals/fossil-imprint-acta-musei-nationalis-pragae-series-b-historia-naturalis/80-2/overview-of-cenozoic-eurasian-lagomorph-biochronology-and-radiation |
Ochotonidae and Leporidae are two living families belonging to the Order Lagomorpha, an ancient group of mammals originating in the Paleogene of Asia. Those families diversified in the Oligocene and Miocene. More primitive stem lagomorphs inhabited Asia during a time of tropical environmental conditions. A Mid-Cenozoic change towards more continental and arid climate in parallel with Antarctic glaciation resulted in significant reorganisation of paleoenvironmental and climatic conditions in Asia and involved the opening of terrestrial connections between Asia, Europe, and North America, allowing faunal exchanges. This promoted diversification and speciation of lagomorphs in the northern continents. Pronounced lagomorph turnover is documented for Central Mongolia, with new data obtained for the Baikalian region as well as adjacent areas. The earliest lagomorphs were represented by archaic stem genera including paleolagids. These were successively replaced by modern Ochotonidae and Leporidae that flourished during the Miocene and Pliocene. The diversity and abundance of ochotonids and leporids decreased during the Pleistocene and of ochotonids, only the pika genus Ochotona survived to the present.
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