Pholidotamorpha

Pholidotamorphs Temporal range: Paleocene–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Various Pholidotamorph genera; clockwise from top left: Manis , Ernanodon , Xenocranium , Metacheiromys , Eurotamandua , Eomanis .
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Mirorder:	Ferae
Clade:	Pholidotamorpha Gaudin et al., 2009 [1]
Orders
Pholidota †Palaeanodonta
Synonyms
Pholidota (Secord, 2008) [2]

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]

Classification and phylogeny

History of taxonomy

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. ^[3]

Newer genetic evidence indicates instead that the closest living relatives to Pholidota are the members of order Carnivora, together forming the mirorder Ferae. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]} 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. ^[8]

Classification

Clade: Pholidotamorpha(Gaudin, 2009) Order: Pholidota (Weber, 1904) (pangolins) Suborder: Eupholidota (Gaudin, 2009) (true pangolins) Family: †Eurotamanduidae (Szalay & Schrenk, 1994) Genus: † Euromanis (Gaudin, 2009) Incertae sedis †Pholidota sp. [BC 16’08] (Pickford, 2008) Order: † Palaeanodonta (Matthew, 1918) (stem-pangolins) Family: †Epoicotheriidae (paraphyletic family)(Simpson, 1927) Family: †Ernanodontidae (Ding, 1979) Family: †Escavadodontidae (Rose & Lucas, 2000) Family: †Metacheiromyidae (paraphyletic family)(Wortman, 1903) Incertae sedis : Genus: † Arcticanodon (Rose, 2004) Genus: † Melaniella (Fox, 1984)

See also

• Mammal classification
• Ferae

References

1. Gaudin, Timothy (2009). "The Phylogeny of Living and Extinct Pangolins (Mammalia, Pholidota) and Associated Taxa: A Morphology Based Analysis" (PDF). Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 16 (4). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Science+Business Media: 235–305. doi:10.1007/s10914-009-9119-9. S2CID   1773698. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
2. Ross Secord (2008). "The Tiffanian Land-Mammal Age (Middle and Late Paleocene) In The Northern Bighorn Basin, Wyoming". Papers on Paleontology. No. 35. hdl: 2027.42/61362 .
3. Rook, D. L.; Hunter, J. P. (2013). "Rooting Around the Eutherian Family Tree: the Origin and Relations of the Taeniodonta". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 21: 1–17. doi:10.1007/s10914-013-9230-9. S2CID   17074668.
4. Murphy, Willian J., et al. (2001-12-14). "Resolution of the Early Placental Mammal Radiation Using Bayesian Phylogenetics". Science. 294 (5550): 2348–2351. Bibcode:2001Sci...294.2348M. doi:10.1126/science.1067179. PMID   11743200. S2CID   34367609.
5. Amrine-madsen, H.; Koepfli, K.P.; Wayne, R.K.; Springer, M.S. (2003). "A new phylogenetic marker, apolipoprotein B, provides compelling evidence for eutherian relationships". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 28 (2): 225–240. doi: 10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00118-0 . PMID   12878460.
6. Beck, Robin MD; Bininda-Emonds, Olaf RP; Cardillo, Marcel; Liu, Fu-Guo; Purvis, Andy (2006). "A higher-level MRP supertree of placental mammals". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 6 (1): 93. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-6-93 . PMC   1654192 . PMID   17101039.
7. Mark S Springer, Christopher A Emerling, John Gatesy, Jason Randall, Matthew A. Collin, Nikolai Hecker, Michael Hiller, Frédéric Delsuc (2019) Odontogenic ameloblast-associated (ODAM) is inactivated in toothless/enamelless placental mammals and toothed whales
8. Kondrashov, Peter; Agadjanian, Alexandre K. (2012). "A nearly complete skeleton of Ernanodon (Mammalia, Palaeanodonta) from Mongolia: morphofunctional analysis". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (5): 983–1001. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.694319. ISSN   0272-4634. S2CID   86059673.