Pholidotamorphs Temporal range: | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Various Pholidotamorph genera; clockwise from top left: Manis , Ernanodon , Xenocranium , Metacheiromys , Eurotamandua , Eomanis . | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Mirorder: | Ferae |
Clade: | Pholidotamorpha Gaudin et al., 2009 [1] |
Orders | |
Pholidotamorpha ("pangolin-like forms") is a clade of placental, mostly ant- and termite-eating mammals that (partially) physically resemble anteaters and armadillos. However, those aforementioned species are now placed in the order Xenarthra, along with sloths; Pholidotamorpha is now classified under the mirorder Ferae, which includes the order Carnivora (carnivorous mammals) and the pangolins (Pholidota) as well as the prehistoric order Palaeanodonta, containing only extinct species. [1]
Both the Pholidota and Palaeanodonta orders were formerly placed with other orders of ant-eating mammals, most notably Xenarthra (armadillos, sloths, anteaters, which they superficially resemble); some palaeontologists, throughout the history of zoology, have placed pangolins and palaeanodonts as a suborder, Pholidota, in the greater order Cimolesta, alongside the extinct family Ernanodontidae as a separate suborder Ernanodonta near it. However, this idea fell out of favor when it was determined that cimolestids were not truly placental mammals. [2]
Newer genetic evidence indicates instead that the closest living relatives to Pholidota are the members of order Carnivora, together forming the mirorder Ferae. [3] [4] [5] In 2009, pangolins and palaeanodonts were together placed within the clade Pholidotamorpha. [1] A 2012 study of new remains, found in Late Paleocene Mongolian strata, have led to the assessment that extinct genus Ernanodon is closely related to another extinct genus, Metacheiromys , and is a member of the extinct order Palaeanodonta. [6]
|
The phylogenetic relationships of clade Pholidotamorpha are shown in the following cladogram: [7] [8] [1] [6] [9] [10] [11]
Ferae |
| †Epoicotherium/Xenocranium clade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||