Abstract

In Asia, the first find of an eomyid rodent was reported almost one century after the first studies of the family Eomyidae in North America and Europe. Since then, eomyid rodents have been increasingly found in Asia particularly over the past two decades. Here, we review the Asian record of this family at the genus level. Currently, 22 species within 14 genera were reported from Asia, including seven endemic genera and rare materials of apeomyine eomyids. Eomyids emphasize the palaeogeographic importance of Asia in considering intercontinental dispersal events of small mammals. With newly compiled data for Asian eomyids, we also compare genus-level diversity trends through time among North America, Europe, and Asia. Despite data standardizations limited with respect to potential biases in the fossil record, we found that the Asian eomyid diversity closely follows ecological shifts induced by climate changes. In general, Asian eomyid genera disappeared earlier than their European counterparts. We suggest that this pattern is not dictated by differences in the quality of the fossil record and is related to the expansion of drier habitats over large areas of Asia.

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Abstract

Over the last half a century, a massive amount of data has been gathered on Neogene rodents of Europe. Using the NOW database, we analysed changes in generic diversity during the Neogene and the beginning of the Quaternary. Studies as the present are useful for exploring major changes in diversity, but the pitfalls are many and varied. Whereas the quality of the fossil record is good, there are notable exceptions. Within our dataset, MN 1, MN 12 and MN 17 stand out for the limited number of localities available and the record of the eastern Mediterranean is clearly as yet poorer than that from central Europe and the Iberian Peninsula. The record can be influenced by incomplete faunal lists, outdated literature and unresolved taxonomies. In addition, the use of the MN system presumably obscures patterns, as it often does not allow for a co-eval comparison between various regions. Reconstruction of major patterns starts with the understanding of basic data. Despite all these limitations the results of this work indicate that the record for central Europe consistently shows higher diversity than lower latitudes. The highest peak in diversity is found in MN 15, but the record of the Iberian Peninsula shows no increase at that time. The rodent diversity is surprisingly constant during most part of the Neogene, the stronger variations being related to the diversification of the murinae and arvicolinae groups and decline of the cricetine.

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