 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2008) |
| Afroinsectiphilia Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Taxidermied animals at the Cambridge University Museum of Zoology, England. On the left four-toed elephant shrew (Petrodromus tetradactylus), in the middle Cape golden mole (Chrysochloris asiatica) and on the right greater hedgehog tenrec (Setifer setosus). | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Superorder: | Afrotheria |
| Grandorder: | Afroinsectiphilia |
| Orders | |
 | |
| Red: Afrosoricida, yellow: Tubulidentata, blue: Macroscelidea, orange: both Macroscelidea and Afrosoricida, green: both Macroscelidea and Tubulidentata, purple: both Macroscelidea and Afrosoricida, black: Tubulidentata, Afrosoricida and Macroscelidea | |
The Afroinsectiphilia (African insectivores) is a clade that has been proposed based on the results of recent molecular phylogenetic studies. [1] Many of the taxa within it were once regarded as part of the order Insectivora, but Insectivora is now considered to be polyphyletic and obsolete. This classification was proposed based on molecular studies only, with no morphological basis. [2]
Contents
The golden moles, otter shrews, tenrecs, elephant shrews and aardvarks are part of this clade. The sister group of the Afroinsectiphilia is the Paenungulata, which were also traditionally regarded as ungulates.
Additionally, there might be some dental synapomorphies uniting afroinsectiphilians: p4 talonid and trigonid of similar breadth, a prominent p4 hypoconid, presence of a P4 metacone and absence of parastyles on M1–2. Additional features uniting ptolemaiidans and tubulidentates specifically include hypsodont molars that wear down to a flat surface; a long and shallow mandible with an elongated symphyseal region; and trigonids and talonids that are separated by lateral constrictions. [3] [4]
