Class Mammalia
Order Rodentia
Family Cricetidae
Subfamily Arvicolinae
Allophaiomys is a relatively primitive arvicoline occurring approximately from 2.2 to 1.2 mya. It has been considered by some as a subgenus of Microtus and by others as a separate genus ancestral to Microtus (Kurtén and Anderson 1980, Martin and Tesakov 1998).
Rogers et al. (2000) reported a number of specimens from four of the oldest sites within SAM Cave. They stated that all except 2 of 67 identified specimens are of advanced Allophaiomys, the other two being of the "typical" type. They considered the SAM Cave populations as an unnamed, advanced species of the genus.
Sites.
Medial Irvingtonian: SAM Cave (Rogers et al. 2000).
Literature. Kurtén and Anderson 1980; Martin and Tesakov 1998; Rogers et al. 2000.
Last Update: 26 Nov 2008