Prolagus

Prolagus
Temporal range: Burdigalian–Holocene
A Prolagus sardus skeleton
Reconstruction of Prolagus sardus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Lagomorpha
Family: †Prolagidae
Genus: †Prolagus
Pomel, 1853
Type species
†Prolagus oeningensis
König, 1825
Species

See text

Prolagus sp. fossils distribution map. P. oeningensis is red, P. michauxi blue, P. crusafonti green, P. sorbinii pink, P. vasconiensis yellow, other Prolagus species including indet. are black.[1][n 1]

Prolagus is an extinct genus of lagomorph. Over 20 species have been named, and the genus was abundant and widespread in Europe during the Neogene. However, by the end of the Middle Pleistocene, it was confined to a single species, the Sardinian pika (P. sardus), on the Corsica, Sardinia, and surrounding islands, where it survived into historical times.[3] In North Africa and Western Asia, the genus is known from the Miocene and Pliocene.[4] The scientific name may mean "before hares" or "primitive hares" (pro- meaning "before" and lagos meaning "hare"). Its taxonomy is disputed, with it either being considered a member of the family Ochotonidae, which includes living pikas, or the only member of the family Prolagidae.

  1. ^ a b Ge, Deyan; Wen, Zhixin; Xia, Lin; Zhang, Zhaoqun; Erbajeva, Margarita; Huang, Chengming; Yang, Qisen (April 3, 2013). "Evolutionary History of Lagomorphs in Response to Global Environmental Change". PLOS ONE. 8 (4:e59668): e59668. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...859668G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059668. PMC 3616043. PMID 23573205.
  2. ^ "The Paleobiology Database. †Prolagus Pomel 1853 (pika)". Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  3. ^ Hoffman, R.S.; Smith, A.T. (2005). "Order Lagomorpha". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 193–194. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  4. ^ McKenna, M.C.; Bell, S.K. (1997). Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press. p. 109. ISBN 0-231-11013-8.


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