Posterolateral palatal pits

[1] Posterolateral palatal pits are present, in various degrees of development, in several members of the rodent family Cricetidae.

[2] Posterolateral palatal pits are also present in some other rodents, including Glis, Jaculus, Hystrix, Abrocoma, Ctenomys, Chinchilla, and Lagidium.

[5] This depression has been termed the "palatal fossa" in the genus Cerradomys; its varying depth serves as a diagnostic character separating some of the species.

[9] One of the putative subdivisions within Oryzomyini, Clade D, has posterolateral palatal pits recessed into a fossa as one of its synapomorphies,[10] although the feature is reversed in several subgroups.

[21] Posterolateral palatal pits are poorly developed or absent in many members of the mostly North American subfamily Neotominae, including Peromyscus (deer mice) and related genera.

Skull, seen from below, on a black background. Red circle next to left third upper molar on the palate, around a dark field.
The western Mexican oryzomyine Oryzomys peninsulae (skull, seen from below, with left posterolateral palatal pits indicated by a red circle) has the pits recessed into a fossa. [ 4 ]