Pseudocricetodontinae (Mammalia, Rodentia) from the Paleogene of south-east Serbia

Abstract

Pseudocricetodontines from the late Eocene and early Oligocene of south-east Serbia are described. The Pseudocricetodontinae is a clade with a Eurasian geographical range during most of the Oligocene. The subfamily and genera included are briefly discussed. Originally, it contained Pseudocricetodon and Heterocricetodon only, but the number of genera included has grown to at least seven genera during the last decades. Differences in opinion about the content of the subfamily are for a part due to lack of studies in which the Paleogene cricetids from Asia and Europe are directly compared. The material from south-east Serbia described below is assigned to three species: Pseudocricetodon cf. montalbanensis Thaler, 1969, P. heissigi nov. sp. and Heterocricetodon serbicus nov. sp.