Ptilodontoidea

Ptilodontoidea is a group of extinct mammals from the Northern Hemisphere. They were small, somewhat rodent-like creatures that belonged to an extinct order called Multituberculata.

One of the best-known members of this group is Ptilodus, which is often pictured as being similar to a squirrel. Fossils of these animals have been found in North America and Europe from the upper Cretaceous period. Even later, during the Paleocene and Eocene periods, fossils have been discovered in North America, Europe, and Asia. These were some of the last multituberculates, and they belonged to a suborder called Cimolodonta.

The superfamily Ptilodontoidea is divided into several families, including Neoplagiaulacidae with 10 genera, Ptilodontidae with 4 genera, and possibly Cimolodontidae with 3 genera. The place of Neoliotomus within this superfamily is less clear, but it seems to belong somewhere among these groups.