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Taxonomy
Mus minotaurus was named by Bate (1942). Its type specimen is BMNH M15950, a maxilla (maxilla with M1–M3), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Cave between Canea and Suda, which is in a Pleistocene cave horizon in Greece.
Sister species lacking formal opinion data
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1942 | Mus minotaurus Bate |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
†Mus minotaurus Bate 1942
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Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| D. M. A. Bate 1942 | A Mus of large size, equalling in size the largest Recent representatives of the Mus group. Bony knob present at anterior root of zygomatic plate, maxilla immediately in front of the upper tooth row wide and massive. Zygomatic plate not thrust far forward, making the distance between its anterior root and the anterior border of the alveolus of M1 short, less than the crown length of M1 . Anterior palatine foramina broad anteriorly, penetrating posteriorly to in line with between the inner tubercles of M1. Mandibular ramus stout and comparatively short in front of the cheek-tooth row. Upper incisors short, orthodont, with curve of tooth wider than in Recent Mus, perhaps a slight notch on outer cutting-edge, outer surface rounded with enamel band noticeably wide, antero-posterior diameter one-anda-half times greater than the transverse diameter. M1 three-rooted, anterior root not projecting beyond crown and concealed in alveolus, crown length greater than that of M2- 3 combined, but less so than is usual in Recent wild Mus; t1 is less backwardly placed and t3 more strongly developed than in M. gentilis. t3 of M 2 may be present or not, size and crown-pattern of M3 about as in Recent Mus. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Lillegraven 1979, Hendy et al. 2009, Nowak 1991, Ji et al. 2002, Carroll 1988 | |||||
Age range: base of the Early/Lower Pleistocene to the top of the Holocene or 2.58800 to 0.00000 Ma
Collections (17 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early/Lower Pleistocene | Greece | Mus minotaurus (214621) | |
| Pleistocene | Greece (Crete) | Mus minotaurus (182811 183122 192442 192443 204040 204189) | |
| Middle Pleistocene | Greece (Crete) | Mus minotaurus (type locality: 203935 204081 204082 204083) | |
| Middle Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene | Greece (Crete) | Mus minotaurus (204299) | |
| Late/Upper Pleistocene | Greece (Crete) | Mus minotaurus (92902 182810 183124 192965) | |
| Holocene | Greece (Crete) | Mus minotaurus (192961) |