Paenungulata is a superorder that groups some remarkable mammals constituting three orders: Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... 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 characterized by the presence of mammary glands...

• 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: Groups Jozaria (extinct) Anthracobunidae (extinct) Moeritheriidae (extinct) Euproboscidea Numidotheriidae (extinct) Barytheriidae (extinct) Deinotheriidae (extinct) Elephantiformes Phiomiidae (extinct) Palaeomastodontidae (extinct) Hemimastodontidae (extinct) Mammutidea (extinct) Euelephantoidea Choerolophodontidae (extinct) Amebelodontidae (extinct) Gnathabelodontidae (extinct) Gomphotheriidae (extinct) Elephantidae For the plant genus Proboscidea see, Unicorn plant Proboscidea is an order containing only one family of... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas recki (extinct) Stegodon (extinct) Deinotherium (extinct) Mammuthus (extinct) Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of animals, the only family in the order Proboscidea that still exists today. ... Families Dugongidae Trichechidae Hydrochichus (extinct) For information about the Gothic metal band, see Sirenia (band) Sirenia are herbivorous mammals of coastal waters. ... Families Dugongidae Trichechidae For information about the Gothic Metal band, see Sirenia (band) Sirenia are herbivorous mammals of coastal waters. ... Species Trichechus inunguis Trichechus manatus Trichechus senegalensis Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large aquatic mammals sometimes known as sea cows. ... Genera  Procavia  Heterohyrax  Dendrohyrax A hyrax is any of about 11 species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. ... Genera  Procavia  Heterohyrax  Dendrohyrax A hyrax is any of about 11 species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. ...

• Embrithopoda
• Desmostylia

Both of these were as unique in their ways as the surviving orders. Embrithopods were rhino-like herbivorous mammals with plantigrade haid feet, and desmostylians were hippopotamus-like amphibious creatures resembling a hippopotamus, the walking posture diet of which has been the subject of speculation. However tooth wear indicates that Desmostylians browsed on terrestrial plants and had a similar posture to other large hooved mammals. Families Arsinoitheriidae Phenacolophidae Embrithopoda is an extinct order of mammals which lived during the Oligocene. ... 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. ... Genera Ceratotherium Dicerorhinus Diceros Rhinoceros Coelodonta (extinct) Elasmotherium (extinct) A rhinoceros (commonly called a rhino for short) is any of five surviving species of odd-toed ungulate in the family Rhinocerotidae. ...

George Gaylord Simpson, (Simpson 1945), working with traditional taxonomic techniques did succeed in grouping these spectacularly diverse mammals in the superorder he named Paenungulata, but there were many loose threads in unravelling their genealogy. The Hyraxes in his Paenungulata ("almost ungulates") offered hints that they might be connected to the perissodactyl ungulates— horses and rhinos and kin. Indeed early taxonomists placed the Hyracoidea as closest to the rhinoceroses, because of their dentition, and some evidence possibly suggests an affinity of Hyracoidea to Perissodactylia, rather than to the rest of the Paenungulata. If this is so, then Paenungulata are not most closely related to one another. George Gaylord Simpson (June 16, 1902 - October 6, 1984) was an American paleontologist. ... Taxonomy (from Greek ταξινομία (taxinomia) from the words taxis = order and nomos = law) may refer to either the classification of things, or the principles underlying the classification. ... Families Equidae Tapiridae Rhinocerotidae The odd-toed ungulates or Perissodactyla are large to very large browsing and grazing mammals with relatively simple stomachs and a large middle toe. ... Genera  Procavia  Heterohyrax  Dendrohyrax A hyrax is any of about 11 species of fairly small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. ...

Then genetic techniques were developed of inspecting the differences among amino acid differences among hemoglobin sequences. The most parsimonious cladograms depicted Simpson's Paenungulata as an authentic monophyletic clade and as one of the most anciently diversified among the placental mammals (Eutheria), that is, among the first group to diversify from the basal placental mammals. The hypothetical connections with Perissodactyls were not supported by the amino acid sequences, although morphology continues to support the position of Paenungulates as Ungulates. Parsimony, in the general sense, means taking extreme care at arriving at a course of action; or unusual or excessive frugality, extreme economy or stinginess. ... Greek clados = branch) or phylogenetic systematics is a branch of biology that determines the evolutionary relationships of living things based on derived similarities. ... Eutheria is a taxon (specifically, an infraclass) nearly synonymous with Placentalia, containing the placental mammals and the nearest ancestors of placental mammals (which are known only from the fossil record). ...

The molecular evidence suggests that Paenungulata in its turn is part of Afrotheria, an ancient assemblage of mainly African mammals of great diversity. The other members of this superorder are Afrosoricidans (tenrecs and golden moles), elephant shrews (Macroscelidea) and aardvarks (Tubulidentata). Afrotheria are a clade of mammals that has been proposed based on DNA analysis. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent and second most populous after Asia. ... Subfamilies  Oryzorictinae  Potamogalinae  Tenrecinae Tenrecidae (common name tenrecs) is a family of mammals found on Madagascar and parts of western Africa. ... Genera  Eremitalpa  Chrysospalax  Chrysochloris  Cryptochloris  Carpitalpa  Chlorotalpa  Calcochloris  Amblysomus  Neamblysomus Golden moles are small, insectivorous burrowing mammals native to southern Africa. ... 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. ... Binomial name Orycteropus afer Pallas, 1766 The Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is a medium-sized mammal native to Africa. ...

Of the orders of Paenungulates mentioned above, hyraxes are the most basal, followed by embrithopods, sirenians and desmostylians, with elephants being the crown group. The latter three are grouped as the Thetytheria.

External links

• Paleos.com: Vertebrates: Paenungulata
• Traute Kleinschmidt, John Czelusniak, Morris Goodman and Gerhard Braunitzer, "Paenungulata: A Comparison of the Hemoglobin Sequences from Elephant, Hyrax, and Manatee

References

• Simpson, G.G., "Classification," in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History vol. 85:1-350. 1945.
• McKenna, M. C. and Bell, S. K., editors, Classification of mammals; above the species level. Columbia University Press, New York, 1997.