Relationships of the extinct rodent Cricetops to Lophiomys and the Cricetinae (Rodentia, Cricetidae). American Museum novitates ; no. 2784

Abstract

"Cricetops, an extinct cricetid from the mid-Oligocene of Mongolia and Kazakhstan, and Lophiomys, a peculiar cricetid living in eastern Africa, share dorsoventral expansion of the jugal bone and enclosure of fossettids in the transverse crests of M[subscript 1]. They are proposed as each other's closest relative and inlcuded in the subfamily Lophiomyinae. Emphasis on transverse wear is hared by these genera and the living Cricetinae: Cricetulus, Phodopus, Mesocricetus, and Cricetus. The two subfamilies are considered closest relatives and placed in the muroid family Cricetidae. Cricetops and the living cricetines are chiefly northern Asiatic groups. Immigration to Africa from Asia is proposed for the ancestors of Lophiomys"--P. [1].