HYSTRICOGNATHI, Tullberg, 1899

Charles A. Woods, 1993, Order Rodentia - Suborder Hystricognathi, Mammal Species of the World (2 nd Edition), Washington and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 771-806 : 771

SUBORDER HYSTRICOGNATHI

SYNONYMS: Hystricomorpha.

COMMENTS: Originally used as a tribe (Tribus) by Tullberg under his Order Glires, Suborder Simplicidentati , the first time this natural group was united together without various hystricomorphous forms. Includes Hystricidae, Thryonomyoidea, Bathyergoidea, "Caviomorpha", and the Eocene-Oligocene Franimorpha. The term "Caviomorpha" is inappropriate since it is unlikely all New World forms are part of a single radiation, and the Caviidae are the least characteristic family of the group, so it is best to refer to these collectively as the New World hystricognaths, and discuss them in their superfamily groupings (Chinchilloidea, Cavioidea, Erethizontoidea, and Octodontoidea). See Tullberg (1899:69-71) and Wood (1985:478-495) for definitions of hystricognath characters and lists of taxa.