Saidomys

Saidomys; Temporal range:
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Placentalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Muridae
Genus:	†Saidomys; James & Slaughter, 1974
Type species
	Saidomys natrunensis; James & Slaughter, 1974
Other species
	Saidomys afarensis Sabatier, 1982

Saidomys is an extinct genus of murid rodent that lived in Africa during the Pliocene epoch.

Distribution

Saidomys afarensis hails from the mid-Pliocene of Ethiopia,¹ whereas Saidomys natrunensis is known from the mid-Pliocene of Egypt.²

Palaeoecology

The dental microwear of S. afarensis bears the most similarities to that of extant rodents that consume grass, suggesting that S. afarensis too was primarily an eater of grass.³

References

Sabatier, Maurice (15 February 1982). "Les rongeurs du site Pliocène à Hominidés de Hadar (Ethiope)". PalaeoVertebrata. ISSN 2274-0333.
Slaughter, Bob H.; James, Gideon T. (29 May 1979). "Saidomys natrunensis, an Arvicanthine Rodent from the Pliocene of Egypt". Journal of Mammalogy. 60 (2): 421–425. doi:10.2307/1379821. ISSN 1545-1542. Retrieved 28 September 2025 – via Oxford Academic.
Gomes Rodrigues, Helder; Merceron, Gildas; Viriot, Laurent (6 January 2009). "Dental microwear patterns of extant and extinct Muridae (Rodentia, Mammalia): ecological implications". Naturwissenschaften. 96 (4): 537–542. doi:10.1007/s00114-008-0501-x. ISSN 0028-1042. Retrieved 28 September 2025 – via Springer Nature Link.

[1] Sabatier, Maurice (15 February 1982). "Les rongeurs du site Pliocène à Hominidés de Hadar (Ethiope)". PalaeoVertebrata. ISSN 2274-0333.

[2] Slaughter, Bob H.; James, Gideon T. (29 May 1979). "Saidomys natrunensis, an Arvicanthine Rodent from the Pliocene of Egypt". Journal of Mammalogy. 60 (2): 421–425. doi:10.2307/1379821. ISSN 1545-1542. Retrieved 28 September 2025 – via Oxford Academic.

[3] Gomes Rodrigues, Helder; Merceron, Gildas; Viriot, Laurent (6 January 2009). "Dental microwear patterns of extant and extinct Muridae (Rodentia, Mammalia): ecological implications". Naturwissenschaften. 96 (4): 537–542. doi:10.1007/s00114-008-0501-x. ISSN 0028-1042. Retrieved 28 September 2025 – via Springer Nature Link.

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