Caenolestidae

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Cladus: Synapsida
Cladus: Eupelycosauria
Cladus: Sphenacodontia
Cladus: Sphenacodontoidea
Cladus: Therapsida
Cladus: Theriodontia
Cladus: Cynodontia
Cladus: Eucynodontia
Cladus: Probainognathia
Cladus: Prozostrodontia
Cladus: Mammaliaformes
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Trechnotheria
Infraclassis: Zatheria
Supercohors: Theria
Cohort: Metatheria
Cohors: Marsupialia
Ordo: Paucituberculata

Familia: Caenolestidae
Genera (3 + 1†): Caenolestes – Lestoros – Rhyncholestes – †Abderites

Name

Caenolestidae Trouessart, 1898

Type genus: Caenolestes Thomas, 1895
References

Ojala-Barbour, R., Pinto, C.M., Brito M., J., Albuja V., L., Lee Jr., T.E. & Patterson, B.D. 2013. A new species of shrew-opossum (Paucituberculata: Caenolestidae) with a phylogeny of extant caenolestids. Journal of Mammalogy 94(5): 967–982. DOI: 10.1644/13-MAMM-A-018.1 Reference page.
Caenolestidae in Mammal Species of the World.
Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn M. (Editors) 2005. Mammal Species of the World – A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Third edition. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4.
Catalogus Mammalium tam viventium quam fossilium, new ed., Berlin 2(5): 1205
Wilson, D.E. & Reeder, D.M. (eds.) 2005. Mammal Species of the World: a taxonomic and geographic reference. 3rd edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore. 2 volumes. 2142 pp. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. Reference page.

The family Caenolestidae contains the seven surviving species of shrew opossum: small, shrew-like marsupials that are confined to the Andes mountains of South America.[1] The order is thought to have diverged from the ancestral marsupial line very early. They were once included in the superorder but it is now known that Ameridelphia is paraphyletic, having given rise to Australidelphia, and thus could be considered an evolutionary grade.[2] Genetic studies indicate that they are the second most basal order of marsupials, after the didelphimorphs.[2] As recently as 20 million years ago, at least seven genera were in South America. Today, just three genera remain. They live in inaccessible forest and grassland regions of the High Andes.

Shrews were entirely absent from South America until the Great American Interchange three million years ago, and are currently present only in the northwestern part of the continent. Traditionally, it was thought that shrew opossums lost ground to these and other placental invaders that fill the same ecological niches. Evidence suggests, however, that both groups not only overlap, but do not seem to be in direct competition, and the marsupials' larger size seems to imply that they prey on shrews and rodents.[3] Several opossums, such as Monodelphis, also occupy small insectivore niches.

Shrew opossums (also known as rat opossums or caenolestids) are about the size of a small rat (9–14 cm long), with thin limbs, a long, pointed snout and a slender, hairy tail. They are largely carnivorous, being active hunters of insects, earthworms, and small vertebrates. They have small eyes and poor sight, and hunt in the early evening and at night, using their hearing and long, sensitive whiskers to locate prey. They seem to spend much of their lives in burrows and on surface runways. Like several other marsupials, they do not have a pouch, and it appears that females do not carry the young constantly, possibly leaving them in the burrow.[4]

Largely because of their rugged, inaccessible habitat, they are very poorly known and have traditionally been considered rare. Several ecological factors, including density of forest, contribute to the part of the forests the shrew opossums occupy. Recent studies suggest they may be more common than had been thought. Their karyotype has also been described through contemporary research in order to better understand this organism.[5]
Classification
Cladogram of living Caenolestidae[6]

	Lestoros inca Rhyncholestes raphanurus
Caenolestes	C. fuliginosus C. convelatus C. caniventer C. sangay

Within the family of the Caenolestidae, seven extant species are known:

Genus Caenolestes
Gray-bellied caenolestid, Caenolestes caniventer
Andean caenolestid, Caenolestes condorensis
Northern caenolestid, Caenolestes convelatus
Dusky caenolestid, Caenolestes fuliginosus
Eastern caenolestid, Caenolestes sangay[7]
Genus Lestoros
Peruvian or Incan caenolestid, Lestoros inca
Genus Rhyncholestes
Long-nosed caenolestid, Rhyncholestes raphanurus

However, Bublitz suggested in 1987 there were actually two Lestoros and Rhyncholestes species (those listed here plus L. gracilis and R. continentalis). This is, however, not accepted by most scientists.
Fossil species

Additionally, species from the fossil record are known:[8]
Paleogene

Eocene

Perulestes - Pozo Formation, Peru

Barrancan

Progarzonia notostylopense - Sarmiento Formation, Argentina

Deseadan

Pseudhalmarhiphus guaraniticus - Sarmiento Formation, Argentina

Neogene

Colhuehuapian

Pebas Formation, Amazon Basin
Caenolestoides miocaenicus Arbello, Martin & Cardoso, 2021 - Sarmiento Formation, Colhue-Huapi Member[9]
Gaimanlestes pascuali Arbello, Martin & Cardoso, 2021 - Sarmiento Formation, Trelew Member[9]
Stilotherium parvum Arbello, Martin & Cardoso, 2021 - Sarmiento Formation, Colhue-Huapi Member[9]

Laventan

Honda Group, Bolivia

Huayquerian

Pliolestes venetus - Cerro Azul Formation, Argentina

Pliocene

Umala Formation, Bolivia

Montehermosan

Pliolestes tripotamicus - Argentina

References

iconPaleontology portalPrehistoric mammals portaliconMammals portal

Gardner, A.L. (2005). "Family Caenolestidae". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
Nilsson, M. A.; Churakov, G.; Sommer, M.; Van Tran, N.; Zemann, A.; Brosius, J.; Schmitz, J. (2010-07-27). "Tracking Marsupial Evolution Using Archaic Genomic Retroposon Insertions". PLOS Biology. 8 (7): e1000436. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000436. PMC 2910653. PMID 20668664.
Luis, A. V.; Patterson, B. D. (1996-02-16). "A New Species of Northern Shrew-Opossum (Paucituberculata: Caenolestidae) from the Cordillera Del Condor, Ecuador". Journal of Mammalogy. 77 (1): 41–53. doi:10.2307/1382707. JSTOR 1382707.
Patterson (2008), page 126
Kelt, Douglas A.; Martínez, David R. (1989). "Notes on Distribution and Ecology of Two Marsupials Endemic to the Valdivian Forests of Southern South America". Journal of Mammalogy. 70 (1): 220–224. doi:10.2307/1381695. JSTOR 1381695.
Upham, Nathan S.; Esselstyn, Jacob A.; Jetz, Walter (2019). "Inferring the mammal tree: Species-level sets of phylogenies for questions in ecology, evolution and conservation". PLOS Biol. 17 (12): e3000494. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000494. PMC 6892540. PMID 31800571.
Ojala-Barbour, R.; et al. (October 2013). "A new species of shrew-opossum (Paucituberculata: Caenolestide) with a phylogeny of extant caenolestids". Journal of Mammalogy. 94 (5): 967–982. doi:10.1644/13-MAMM-A-018.1.
Caenolestidae at Fossilworks.org
Alejandra Abello, María; Martin, Gabriel M.; Cardoso, Yamila (2021). "Review of the extinct 'shrew-opossums' (Marsupialia: Caenolestidae), with descriptions of two new genera and three new species from the Early Miocene of southern South America". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 193 (2): 464–498. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa165.