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Kritimys

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Extinct genus of rodent

Kritimys
Temporal range: Early - Middle Pleistocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Muridae
Subfamily: Murinae
Genus: †Kritimys
Kuss & Missone, 1968
Species

K. catreus Bate, 1912
K. kiridus Bate, 1942

Synonyms
  • Mus catreus
  • Rattus kiridus

Kritimys, also known as the Cretan giant rat is an extinct genus of murid rodent that was endemic to the island of Crete during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. There are two known species, K. kiridus from the Early-Mid Pleistocene, and its descendant K. catreus from the Middle Pleistocene. It is suggested to be closely related to and probably derived from Praomys. As with most island rodents, Kritimys was larger than its mainland relatives, with its size increasing over time, with K. catreus estimated to weigh 518 grams (1.142 lb), around 6.7 times the weight of its mainland ancestor, an example of island gigantism. The temporal range of the genus is considered to define the regional Kritimys biozone, during which time there were only two other species of mammal native to the island, a species of dwarf mammoth, Mammuthus creticus and the dwarf hippopotamus Hippopotamus creutzburgi. It became extinct during the late Middle Pleistocene, following the arrival of the Mus bateae-minotaurus lineage (which appears to be related to Mus musculus) to the island, exhibiting a decrease in size shortly before its extinction.

References

  1. van der Geer, Alexandra; Lyras, George; de Vos, John (April 27, 2021). Evolution of Island Mammals: Adaptation and Extinction of Placental Mammals on Islands. Wiley. p. 534. ISBN 9781119675747.
  2. ^ George Iliopoulos; H. Eikamp; Charalampos Fassoulas (January 2017). "A New Late Pleistocene Mammal Locality from Western Crete". Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece. 43 (2): 918. doi:10.12681/bgsg.11257.
  3. ^ van den Hoek Ostende, Lars W.; van der Geer, Alexandra A.E.; Wijngaarden, Carlijne L. (July 2017). "Why are there no giants at the dwarves feet? Insular micromammals in the eastern Mediterranean". Quaternary International. 445: 269–278. Bibcode:2017QuInt.445..269V. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.05.007.
  4. van der Geer, Alexandra A.; Lyras, Georgios A.; Lomolino, Mark V.; Palombo, Maria Rita; Sax, Dov F. (August 2013). Masters, Judith (ed.). "Body size evolution of palaeo-insular mammals: temporal variations and interspecific interactions". Journal of Biogeography. 40 (8): 1440–1450. Bibcode:2013JBiog..40.1440V. doi:10.1111/jbi.12119. S2CID 37706170.
  5. Lyras, George A.; Athanassiou, Athanassios; van der Geer, Alexandra A. E. (2022), Vlachos, Evangelos (ed.), "The Fossil Record of Insular Endemic Mammals from Greece", Fossil Vertebrates of Greece Vol. 2, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 661–701, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-68442-6_25, ISBN 978-3-030-68441-9, S2CID 239841623, retrieved 2023-03-20
Taxon identifiers
Kritimys
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