Phiomorpha

The rodent parvorder or infraorder Phiomorpha comprises several living and extinct families found wholly or largely in Africa. Along with Anomaluromorpha and perhaps the extinct Zegdoumyidae, it represents one of the few early colonizations of Africa by rodents.

== Diversification == During the Oligocene, Africa was not connected to any of the other continents. The predominant theory suggests that rodents first evolved in Laurasia, and expanded outward from there. Although Europe, Asia, and North America were distinct landmasses during much of the Eocene and Oligocene, they experienced intermittent migration events across the shallow sea separating Europe and Asia, via an ice-free Greenland (Europe and North America), or across Beringia (North America and Asia). The southern continents were much more isolated, leading to the unique faunas of Australia, South America, and to a lesser degree Africa.