Plesiadapidae is a family of plesiadapiform mammals related to primates known from the Paleocene and Eocene of North America, Europe, and Asia.[1][2] Plesiadapids were abundant in the late Paleocene, and their fossils are often used to establish the ages of fossil faunas.[3]
| Plesiadapidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Plesiadapis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Plesiadapiformes |
| Superfamily: | †Plesiadapoidea |
| Family: | †Plesiadapidae Trouessart, 1897 |
| Genera | |
†Pronothodectes | |
| Synonyms | |
Plesiadapinae Trouessart, 1897 | |
Classification
McKenna and Bell[1] recognized two subfamilies (Plesiadapinae and Saxonellinae) and one unassigned genus (Pandemonium) within Plesiadapidae. More recently Saxonella (the only saxonelline) and Pandemonium have been excluded from the family,[4] leaving only a redundant Plesiadapinae. Within the family, Pronothodectes is the likely ancestor of all other genera, while Plesiadapis may be directly ancestral to both Chiromyoides and Platychoerops.[3]