Mikrotia

Mikrotia
Temporal range: Late Miocene, 11.63–5 Ma
Complete skull of M. magna
Mandible of Mikrotia sp.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Subfamily: Murinae
Genus: †Mikrotia
Freudenthal, 2006
Species
  • †M. magna Freudenthal, 1976 (type species)
  • †M. maiuscula Freudenthal, 1976
  • †M. parva Freudenthal, 1976
Synonyms

Mikrotia is an extinct rodent belonging to the Muridae. It lived during the upper Miocene (about 11.63 - 5 million years ago) and its fossil remains have been found in Italy (Gargano). The type species is M. magna, although two other species (M. maiuscula and M. parka) are also known.[1][2]

Garganoaetus freudenthali preying on a Mikrotia sp.
  1. ^ M. Freudenthal. (1976). Rodent stratigraphy of some Miocene fissure fillings in Gargano (prov. Foggia, Italy). Scripta Geologica 37:1-23
  2. ^ M. Freudenthal. (2006). Mikrotia, nomen novum for Microtia Freudenthal 1976 (Mammalia, Rodentia). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26(3):784