Dental morphology and wear pattern in Tachyoryctes (Spalacidae, Rodentia)

Tachyoryctes, the most derived genus within the tribe Tachyoryctini (Rhizomyinae, Spalacidae, Rodentia), is known from Pliocene to Recent. It comprises four species: the fossil T. pliocaenicus and T. konjiti and the extant T. splendens and T. macrocephalus. A detailed description of the morphology and dental wear pattern of the cheek teeth of T. splendens is provided based on the study of 297 skulls. For the first and second lower and upper molars, five stages of wear are recognized (0-4). The third lower and upper molars show four stages of wear (0-3). The dental wear pattern in T. splendens is comparable to that of the Pleistocene T. konjiti