Fereuungulata

Ferungulata

Ferungulata

Clade of mammals comprising carnivorans, pangolins, artiodactyls and perissodactyls

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Subgroups ...

Ferungulata ("wild beasts and ungulates") is a grandorder of placental mammals that groups together mirorder Ferae and clade Pan-Euungulata. It has existed in two guises, a traditional one based on morphological analysis and a revised one taking into account more recent molecular analyses. The Fereungulata is a sister group to the order Chiroptera (bats) and together they make clade Scrotifera.

General characteristics

According to 2022 study of Anne E. Kort, member of grandorder Ferungulata, in addition to their genetic similarities, share common synapomorphy in the lumbar vertebrae (the S-shaped postzygapophysis). In extant ferungulate mammals, this is known only within members of order Artiodactyla. However, this feature is found also in many extinct members of Ferungulata, including hyaenodonts, oxyaenids, mesonychids, arctocyonids and the stem-relatives of perissodactyls (like Cambaytherium).[4][5] This synapomorphy suggests that this may be basal to all Ferungulata and secondarily lost in modern members, like carnivorans and crown Perissodactyla. Previous study has shown that these S-shaped zygapophyses prevent torsion between vertebrae. As said in this study, it is possible this feature evolved in response to a need for stabilization in posterior spine as ribs became reduced. Also, in this and several other 2022 studies the extinct eutherians pantodonts, tillodonts and genus Deltatherium (family Deltatheriidae) are recognised as crown-group placental mammals,[4][6][7][8] who also possess S-shaped postzygapophysis like other members of Ferungulata.[4]

Classification and phylogeny

History of phylogeny

The traditional Ferungulata was established by George Gaylord Simpson in 1945.[1] It grouped together the extant orders Carnivora, Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla with the Tubulidentata and the superorder Paenungulata, as well as a number of orders known only from fossils.

Simpson established the grouping on the basis of morphological criteria, but this traditional understanding of Ferungulata has been challenged by a more recent classification, relying upon genetic criteria.[3][9][10] These studies separated his ungulate orders into two distinct placental groups, within Afrotheria and Laurasiatheria, respectively. The 'true' ungulates (mirorder Euungulata), Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla, are included in the revised group, along with the Carnivora, and with the addition of pangolins (order Pholidota), but the Tubulidentata and paenungulates are excluded. Although Simpson placed whales (Cetacea) in a separate cohort, recent evidence linking them to Artiodactyla would mean that they belong here as well. To reflect this difference, the revised clade is usually referred to as Fereungulata.

Taxonomy

More information Traditional classification: ...

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Simpson, George Gaylord (1945). "The principles of classification and a classification of mammals". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 85: 350. hdl:2246/1104.
  2. [2]
    Arnason U., Gullberg A., Janke A. (1999). "The mitochondrial DNA molecule of the aardvark, Orycteropus afer, and the position of the Tubulidentata in the eutherian tree." Proc R Soc Lond B 266:339–345, doi:10.1098/rspb.1999.0643.
  3. [3]
    Waddell, P.J.; Cao, Y.; Hauf, J.; Hasegawa, M. (1999). "Using Novel Phylogenetic Methods to Evaluate Mammalian mtDNA, Including Amino Acid-Invariant Sites-LogDet plus Site Stripping, to Detect Internal Conflicts in the Data, with Special Reference to the Positions of Hedgehog, Armadillo, and Elephant". Systematic Biology. 48 (1): 31–53. doi:10.1080/106351599260427. PMID 12078643.
  4. [4]
    Anne E. Kort (2022.) "Bizarre Backbones: A Synapomorphy in the Lumbar Vertebrae for Ferungulata", in "The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 82nd annual meeting"
  5. [5]
    Kort, A. E.; Jones, K. E. (2023). "Function of revolute zygapophyses in the lumbar vertebrae of early placental mammals". The Anatomical Record. doi:10.1002/ar.25323. PMID 37712919.
  6. [6]
    Bertrand, O. C.; Shelley, S. L.; Williamson, T. E.; Wible, J. R.; Chester, S. G. B.; Flynn, J. J.; Holbrook, L. T.; Lyson, T. R.; Meng, J.; Miller, I. M.; Püschel, H. P.; Smith, T.; Spaulding, M.; Tseng, Z. J.; Brusatte, S. L. (2022). "Brawn before brains in placental mammals after the end-Cretaceous extinction". Science. 376 (6588): 80–85. Bibcode:2022Sci...376...80B. doi:10.1126/science.abl5584. hdl:20.500.11820/d7fb8c6e-886e-4c1d-9977-0cd6406fda20. PMID 35357913. S2CID 247853831.
  7. [7]
    Sarah L. Shelley (2022.) "The phylogeny of Paleocene mammals and the evolution of Placentalia", in "The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 82nd annual meeting"
  8. [8]
    Thomas E. Williamson, Sarah L. Shelley, Gregory Funston, John R. Wible, Stephen L. Brusatte (2022.) "Triangular beast: New fossils shed light on Deltatherium, an enigmatic early Paleocene mammal from New Mexico", in "The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 82nd annual meeting"
  9. [9]
    Zhou, X.; Xu, S.; Xu, J.; Chen, B.; Zhou, K.; Yang, G. (2012). "Phylogenomic Analysis Resolves the Interordinal Relationships and Rapid Diversification of the Laurasiatherian Mammals". Systematic Biology. 61 (1): 150–164. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syr089. ISSN 1063-5157. PMC 3243735. PMID 21900649.
  10. [10]
    Xue Lv, Jingyang Hu, Yiwen Hu, Yitian Li, Dongming Xu, Oliver A. Ryder, David M. Irwin, Li Yu (2021.) "Diverse phylogenomic datasets uncover a concordant scenario of laurasiatherian interordinal relationships", Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Volume 157
  11. [11]
    Orliac, M. J.; o'Leary, M. A. (2016). "The inner ear of Protungulatum (Pan-Euungulata, Mammalia)". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 23 (4): 337–352. doi:10.1007/s10914-016-9327-z. S2CID 33676627.
  12. [12]
    Frank Zachos (2020.) "Mammalian Phylogenetics: A Short Overview of Recent Advances"
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