title: A large mimotonid from the middle Eocene of China sheds light on the evolution of lagomorphs and their kin.
abstract: Mimotonids share their closest affinity with lagomorphs and were a rare and endemic faunal element of Paleogene mammal assemblages of central Asia. Here we describe a new species, Mimolagus aurorae from the Middle Eocene of Nei Mongol (China). This species belongs to one of the most enigmatic genera of fossil Glires, previously known only from the type and only specimen from the early Oligocene of Gansu (China). Our finding extends the earliest occurrence of the genus by at least 10 million years in the Paleogene of Asia, which closes the gap between Mimolagus and other mimotonids that are known thus far from middle Eocene or older deposits. The new species is one of the largest known pre-Oligocene Glires. As regards duplicidentates, Mimolagus is comparable with the largest Neogene continental leporids, namely hares of the genus Lepus. Our results suggest that ecomorphology of this species was convergent on that of small perissodactyls that dominated faunas of the Mongolian Plateau in the Eocene, and probably a result of competitive pressure from other Glires, including a co-occurring mimotonid, Gomphos.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Łucja
authors.initials: Ł
authors.lastname: Fostowicz-Frelik
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chuankui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Fangyuan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York. NY 10024, USA.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuanqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002681:China; D005580:Fossils; D007793:Lagomorpha / Q000235:genetics*; D008322:Mammals / Q000235:genetics*; D010163:Paleontology; D010802:Phylogeny
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