FOSSIL MACROSCELIDEA

The fossil record of elephant-shrews, confined to Africa, goes back to the Eocene, but only three pre-Miocene genera have been described. Th e two existing subfamilies, Rhynchocyoninae and Macroscelidinae, were clearly distinct in the Miocene and must have diverged much earlier, b ut their relationships with the Eocene Herodotinae (Chambius, Herodoti us) and the Oligocene Metoldobotes are unclear. The Herodotinae have p rimitive characters which seem to link them with hyopsodontid condylar ths. The Rhynchocyoninae have undergone only minor change since the Ea rly Miocene. On the other hand, the Macroscelidinae, which appear in t he record only in the Middle Miocene, diversified to produce at least five species in South Africa in the Pliocene. The Early Miocene Myohyr acinae appear to be the sister-group of the Macroscelidinae, with the dentition specialized for a herbivorous or seed-eating diet. The origi n of Macroscelididae is uncertain: some shared cranial characters sugg est a common origin with anagalids, lagomorphs and rodents, but the de ntition and eye-lens proteins suggest condylarth relationships.