Afrotheria is a clade of mammals with the rank of superorder or cohort, containing (among others) the moles, shrews, aardvarks, hyraxes, elephants and manatees. A clade is a term belonging to the discipline of cladistics. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including those that produce milk, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Cohort may mean: Cohort (military unit), a Roman legion. ... The word mole when used alone, has several possible meanings in the English language: Mole (animal): a small burrowing mammal. ... This article is about the animal; see also The Taming of the Shrew for the use of this term to describe a person. ... This article is about the mammal. ... Genera  Procavia  Heterohyrax  Dendrohyrax A hyrax is any of about 11 species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. ... For other uses, see Elephant (disambiguation). ... Species Trichechus inunguis Trichechus manatus Trichechus senegalensis Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large aquatic mammals sometimes known as sea cows. ...

Afrotheria has been proposed based solely on Molecular & DNA analyses. Genetic analyses since the 1990s have identified Afrotheria as one of four major groups within the infraclass Eutheria (containing placental mammals). Exact relations among the four cohorts, Afrotheria, Xenarthra, Laurasiatheria, and Euarchontoglires (aka Supraprimates) remain somewhat controversial. One reconstruction proposes that the oldest split was between Afrotheria and the other three some 105 million years ago when the African continent was separate from other major landmasses. (The name Afrotheria was coined from two roots, Afro- for 'Africa' and -theria meaning 'animal' in Greek.) Genetic analysis and the fossil record suggests that Xenarthra developed in South America and diverged from the remaining two somewhat later. Laurasiatheria and Euarchontoglires are more closely related than the other two cohorts and may be grouped together within the taxon Boreoeutheria. In science, a molecule is the smallest particle of a pure chemical substance that still retains its chemical composition and properties. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ... Orders[1] Bobolestes Eomaia Maelestes Montanalestes Murtoilestes Prokennalestes Placentalia Superorder Xenarthra: Cingulata (Armadillos) Pilosa (Sloths, True Anteaters) Superorder Afrotheria: Afrosoricida (Tenrecs, etc. ... Orders Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia Xenarthra Dermoptera: Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Placentalia and Eutheria are terms used to describe major groupings within the animal class of Mammalia. ... Orders and suborders Order Pilosa Suborder Vermilingua Suborder Folivora Order Cingulata See text for more details The superorder Xenarthra is a group of placental mammals (infraclass Eutheria), extant today only in the Americas. ... Laurasiatheria is a proposed clade with the rank of cohort or super-order, of the Epitheria infraclass of the Placentalia (living) or Eutheria (Placentals and their extinct ancestors) subclass of Mammals, based on molecular and DNA research It is a sister group to Euarchontoglires. ... Orders Glires Rodentia Lagomorpha Euarchonta Dermoptera Scandentia Primates The Euarchontoglires are a mammalian superorder based on molecular genetic research, combining the Glires clade, which consists of the Rodentia and the Lagomorpha, with that of the Euarchonta, a clade consisting of the Scandentia, the Primates and the Dermoptera. ... Boreoeutheria (synonymous with Boreotheria) is a clade that is composed of the sister taxa Laurasiatheria and Euarchontoglires (Supraprimates). ...

Some researchers consider these classifications based on recent comparative DNA analysis to be preliminary or controversial, as they often cut across previous groupings of mammalian relationships that were based on morphological considerations. For example, the order Insectivora, which comprised many genera and species of mostly small, insect-eating mammals, now appear to be only distantly related, and apparently share similar anatomy and behaviors primarily as the result of convergent evolution. ^[1] As another example, distinctive morphological features of the Xenarthra (which includes anteaters, sloths, and armadillos) previously led taxonomists group all other Eutherian mammals into the taxon Epitheria, with Xenarthra as the most distantly related grouping. Yet another reconstruction would place Xenarthra and Afrotheria together within the clade Atlantogenata as a sister clade to the Boreoeutheria. Families Erinaceidae Soricidae Talpidae Solenodontidae The biological order Insectivora in the past was used as a scrapbasket for a variety of small to very small, relatively unspecialized, insectivorous mammals. ... In evolutionary biology, convergent evolution is the process whereby organisms not closely related, independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches. ... Epitherians comprise all the Eutherian Mammals except the Xenarthra. ... Atlantogenata is a mammal clade containing the cohorts or super-orders Xenarthra, Afrotheria and Meridiungulata. ...

Many members of Afrotheria appear to be at high risk of extinction; if the grouping is accurate, this would be a particularly devastating loss of genetic and evolutionary diversity. The Afrotheria Specialist Group notes that Afrotheria as currently reconstructed includes nearly a third of all mammalian orders currently found in Africa and Madagascar, but only 75 out of more than 1200 mammalian species in those areas. While most extant species assigned to the cohort Afrotheria are found in Africa, some (such as the Indian elephant and the three species of manatee) are found elsewhere; many of these are endangered as well.

Organization

Afrotheria is a division of the infraclass Eutheria or Placentalia and groups together six living orders of mammals: Orders[1] Bobolestes Eomaia Maelestes Montanalestes Murtoilestes Prokennalestes Placentalia Superorder Xenarthra: Cingulata (Armadillos) Pilosa (Sloths, True Anteaters) Superorder Afrotheria: Afrosoricida (Tenrecs, etc. ... Orders Superorder Xenarthra: Pilosa Cingulata Infraclass Epitheria: Superorder Afrotheria: Afrosoricida (Golden mole and tenrec) Macroscelidea (Elephant shrew) Tubulidentata (Aardvark) Hyracoidea (Hyrax) Proboscidea (Elephant) Sirenia (Manatee, Dugong) Superorder Laurasiatheria: Chiroptera (Bats) Insectivora (Shrews, Moles) Cetacea (Whale, dolphin) Artiodactyla (Ruminants et al) Perissodactyla(Horse et al. ... Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals primarily characterized by the presence of mammary...

• INFRACLASS EUTHERIA: placental mammals
  • Superorder Afrotheria
    • Clade Afroinsectiphilia
      • Order Afrosoricida
        • Suborder Chrysochloridea: golden moles (21 species)
        • Suborder: Tenrecomorpha: tenrecs and otter shrews (32 species)
    • Clade Pseudungulata (according to most recent data part of Afroinsectiphilia)
      • Order Macroscelidea: elephant shrews or sengis (15 species)
      • Order Tubulidentata: aardvark (1 species)
    • Clade Paenungulata
      • Order Hyracoidea: hyraxes (4-6 species, depending on classification of subspecies)
      • Order Proboscidea: elephants (3 species)
      • Order Sirenia: manatees (3 species) dugong (1 species) and several extinct species of sea cow
      • Order Embrythopoda: extinct
      • Order Desmostylia: extinct
  • Superorder Xenarthra
• taxon Boreoeutheria
  • Superorder Laurasiatheria
  • Superorder Euarchontoglires (Supraprimates)

Orders[1] Bobolestes Eomaia Maelestes Montanalestes Murtoilestes Prokennalestes Placentalia Superorder Xenarthra: Cingulata (Armadillos) Pilosa (Sloths, True Anteaters) Superorder Afrotheria: Afrosoricida (Tenrecs, etc. ... A clade is a term belonging to the discipline of cladistics. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Families  Chrysochloridae  Tenrecidae The order Afrosoricida (also known as Tenrecomorpha) contains two families of small mammals that are possibly a part of the traditional order Insectivora. ... Genera  Eremitalpa  Chrysospalax  Chrysochloris  Cryptochloris  Carpitalpa  Chlorotalpa  Calcochloris  Amblysomus  Neamblysomus Golden moles are small, insectivorous burrowing mammals native to southern Africa. ... Families  Chrysochloridae  Tenrecidae The order Afrosoricida (also known as Tenrecomorpha) contains two families of small mammals formerly regarded as part of the order Insectivora. ... The Pseudungulates, or false hoof mammals, are made of two orders, the aardvarks, and the elephant shrew. ... Genera  Rhynchocyon  Petrodromus  Macroscelides  Elephantulus The small insectivorous mammals endemic to Africa known as elephant shrews are neither elephants nor shrews and, more formally, are the members of the biological order Macroscelidea. ... This article is about the mammal. ... Paenungulata is a superorder that groups some remarkable mammals constituting three orders: Proboscidea (Elephants) Sirenia (Sea cows and manatees) Hyracoidea (Hyraxes, such as the African Rock Hyrax, Procavia habessinica) All three still exist but the Paenungulata once had at least two additional orders, namely: Embrithopoda Desmostylia Both of these were... Genera  Procavia  Heterohyrax  Dendrohyrax A hyrax is any of about 11 species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. ... Groups Jozaria (extinct) Anthracobunidae (extinct) Moeritheriidae (extinct) Euproboscidea Numidotheriidae (extinct) Barytheriidae (extinct) Deinotheriidae (extinct) Elephantiformes Phiomiidae (extinct) Palaeomastodontidae (extinct) Hemimastodontidae (extinct) Euelephantoidea Choerolophodontidae (extinct) Amebelodontidae (extinct) Gnathabelodontidae (extinct) Gomphotheriidae (extinct) Elephantidae Mammutidae (extinct) Proboscidea is an order containing only one family of living animals, Elephantidae, the elephants, with three species... Families Dugongidae Trichechidae Hydrochichus (extinct) For information about the Gothic metal band, see Sirenia (band) The Sirenia are fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries and coastal marine waters. ... Families Dugongidae Trichechidae For information about the Gothic Metal band, see Sirenia (band) Sirenia are herbivorous mammals of coastal waters. ... Families Arsinoitheriidae Phenacolophidae Embrithopoda is an extinct order of mammals which lived during the Oligocene, 34 million to 23 million years before the present. ... Families Desmostylidae Paleoparadoxiidae Genera Ashoroa Behemotops Desmostylus Paleoparadoxia The Desmostylia are an extinct order of marine mammals comprising four genera, known from late Oligocene and Miocene fossil records. ... Orders and suborders Order Pilosa Suborder Vermilingua Suborder Folivora Order Cingulata See text for more details The superorder Xenarthra is a group of placental mammals (infraclass Eutheria), extant today only in the Americas. ... A taxon (plural taxa), or taxonomic unit, is a grouping of organisms (named or unnamed). ... Boreoeutheria (synonymous with Boreotheria) is a clade that is composed of the sister taxa Laurasiatheria and Euarchontoglires (Supraprimates). ... Laurasiatheria is a proposed clade with the rank of cohort or super-order, of the Epitheria infraclass of the Placentalia (living) or Eutheria (Placentals and their extinct ancestors) subclass of Mammals, based on molecular and DNA research It is a sister group to Euarchontoglires. ... Orders Glires Rodentia Lagomorpha Euarchonta Dermoptera Scandentia Primates The Euarchontoglires are a mammalian superorder based on molecular genetic research, combining the Glires clade, which consists of the Rodentia and the Lagomorpha, with that of the Euarchonta, a clade consisting of the Scandentia, the Primates and the Dermoptera. ... Orders Glires Rodentia Lagomorpha Euarchonta Dermoptera Scandentia Primates The Euarchontoglires (synonymous with Supraprimates) are a mammalian superorder based on molecular genetic sequence analyses and Retrotransposon presence/absence data, combining the Glires clade, which consists of the Rodentia and the Lagomorpha, with that of the Euarchonta, a clade consisting of the...

Classification Problems

Afrotheria are believed to have originated in Africa at a time when the continent was isolated from other continents. Their only externally visible common characteristic is the movable snout, although there is no convincing evidence that this structure is in fact homologous across all members of this group. A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...

The biggest problem with considering Afrotherians as an originally African clade is the fossil record. The earliest fossil evidence for African ungulates and elephant shrews are found outside Africa. The Afrotheres are part of the proposed clade Atlantogenata. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Fossil. ... Atlantogenata is a mammal clade containing the cohorts or super-orders Xenarthra, Afrotheria and Meridiungulata. ...

Afrotherian monophyly is not universally accepted, and morphological evidence places the elephants and their relatives as true ungulates. This may also be the case for the aardvarks and the elephant shrews, although not the tenrecs and golden moles, and the elephant shrews may be related to gnawing mammals (within Glires). A mammal known from Madagascar (Plesiorycteropus) is of unknown affinities but may also be an ungulate perhaps related to the mainland aardvark. Some morphological evidence does support the affinity of the tenrecs and golden moles to other Lipotyphlan insectivores, especially to Solenodon in the Caribbean region. This is a more traditional interpretaton of Tenrecomorph relationships. In phylogenetics, a group is monophyletic (Greek: of one race) if it consists of an inferred common ancestor and all its descendants. ... The term morphology in biology refers to the outward appearance (shape, structure, colour, pattern) of an organism or taxon and its component parts. ... Orders & Clades Order Perissodactyla Eparctocyona Order Arctostylonia (extinct) Order Mesonychia (extinct) Cetartiodactyla Order Cetacea Order Artiodactyla Bulbulodentata (extinct) Family Hyopsodontidae Meridiungulata (extinct) Order Litopterna (extinct) Order Notoungulata (extinct) Order Pyrotheria (extinct) Order Astrapotheria (extinct) Ungulates (meaning roughly being hoofed or hoofed animal) are several groups of mammals most of which... Orders Rodentia Lagomorpha Glires is a proposed clade consisting of rodents and lagomorphs (rabbits, hares, and pikas). ... Plesiorycteropus is one of the most bizarre and mysterious mammals known. ... Species Solenodon [Atopogale] cubanus Solenodon paradoxus The family Solenodontidae are nocturnal, burrowing, insectivorous mammals. ... West Indies redirects here. ...

References

• William J. Murphy, Eduardo Eizirik, Mark S. Springer et al. (14 December 2001). "Resolution of the Early Placental Mammal Radiation Using Bayesian Phylogenetics". Science 294 (5550): 2348-2351. doi:10.1126/science.1067179. 
• Kriegs, Jan Ole, Gennady Churakov, Martin Kiefmann, Ursula Jordan, Juergen Brosius, Juergen Schmitz (2006). "Retroposed Elements as Archives for the Evolutionary History of Placental Mammals". PLoS Biol 4 (4): e91. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0040091.  (pdf version)

A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ...

Notes

Retrotransposons are genetic elements than can amplify themselves in a genome and are ubiquitous components of the DNA of many eukaryotic organisms. ... Retrotransposons as cladistic markers The analysis of SINEs – Short INterspersed Elements – LINEs – Long INterspersed Elements – or truncated LTRs – Long Terminal Repeats – as molecular cladistic markers represents a particularly interesting complement to DNA sequence and morphological data. ...

External links

• IUCN species survival commission: Afrotheria specialist group. Information on the member of Afrotheria, with pictures.