Silvacola

Silvacola is an extinct genus of mammals belonging to the family Erinaceidae, which also contains the modern hedgehogs and gymnures. It lived in North America during the Early Eocene, about 50 million years ago. It was just 5 to 6 centimetres (2.0 to 2.4 in) long, roughly the length of an adult thumb. It is the smallest erinaceid ever found and comparable in size to some of today's shrews.[1]

Silvacola
Temporal range: Ypresian
~
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Erinaceidae
Genus: †Silvacola
Eberle, Rybczynski & Greenwood, 2014
Species:
†S. acares
Binomial name
†Silvacola acares
Eberle, Rybczynski & Greenwood, 2014

The teeth suggest it was an omnivore that probably ate insects and plants it found on the forest floor.[1]

The fossil was discovered in the Driftwood Creek Beds near Smithers, British Columbia, about 670 kilometers north of Vancouver. It was once the site of an ancient lake, and it is a popular place to find fossils of early Eocene flora and fauna.[2], part of the Eocene Okanagan Highlands.[1]

References
  1. Eberle, J.J.; Rybczynski, N.; Greenwood, D.R. (2014). "Early Eocene mammals from the Driftwood Creek beds, Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park, northern British Columbia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (4): 739–746. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.838175.
  2. "Ancient hedgehog once inhabited British Columbia". EurekAlert!. 2014-07-08. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-07.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.