Clade of mammals including elephants, hyraxes, and sea cows
Paenungulata
Temporal range: Paleocene - Recent, 61–0 Ma
PreꞒ
Ꞓ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Top: Rock hyrax (Hyracoidea), Arsinoitherium zitteli (Embrithopoda); bottom: Asian elephant (Proboscidea), West Indian manatee (Sirenia).
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Superorder:
Afrotheria
Clade:
Paenungulatomorpha
Grandorder:
Paenungulata Simpson, 1945
Subgroups
Hyracoidea
†Sudamericungulata?[1]
Tethytheria
Paenungulata (from Latin paene "almost" + ungulātus "having hoofs") is a clade of "sub-ungulates", which groups three extant mammal orders: Proboscidea (including elephants), Sirenia (sea cows, including dugongs and manatees), and Hyracoidea (hyraxes). At least two more possible orders are known only as fossils, namely Embrithopoda and Desmostylia.[a]
Molecular evidence indicates that Paenungulata (or at least its extant members) is part of the cohort Afrotheria, an ancient assemblage of mainly African mammals of great diversity. The other members of this cohort are the orders Afrosoricida (tenrecs and golden moles), Macroscelidea (elephant shrews) and Tubulidentata (aardvarks).[2]
Of the five orders, hyraxes are the most basal, followed by embrithopods; the remaining orders (sirenians and elephants) are more closely related. These latter three are grouped as the Tethytheria, because it is believed that their common ancestors lived on the shores of the prehistoric Tethys Sea; however, recent myoglobin studies indicate that even Hyracoidea had an aquatic ancestor.[3]
^Avilla, Leonardo S.; Mothé, Dimila (2021). "Out of Africa: A New Afrotheria Lineage Rises From Extinct South American Mammals". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 9. doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.654302. ISSN 2296-701X.
^Cite error: The named reference comparison was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"One Protein Shows Elephants and Moles Had Aquatic Ancestors". National Geographic Society. 13 June 2013. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
Paenungulata (from Latin paene "almost" + ungulātus "having hoofs") is a clade of "sub-ungulates", which groups three extant mammal orders: Proboscidea...
these animals was not recognized until the late 1990s. Historically, the Paenungulata had been linked to the true ungulates (particularly the Perissodactyls);...
sirenians) families are extinct. Sirenians are classified in the clade Paenungulata, alongside the elephants and the hyraxes, and evolved in the Eocene 50...
Afroinsectiphilia) and the Paenungulata. In a classification governed by morphological data, both the Pseudoungulata and Paenungulata are seen as true ungulates...
with hooves. Once part of the clade "Ungulata" along with the clade Paenungulata, "Ungulata" has since been determined to be a polyphyletic and thereby...
dugongs), which have resulted in their all being placed in the taxon Paenungulata. Male hyraxes lack a scrotum and their testicles remain tucked up in...
and golden moles) Order Macroscelidea (elephant shrews) Grandorder Paenungulata Order Hyracoidea (hyraxes) Mirorder Tethytheria (elephants, dugongs,...
desmostylians share the same number of characteristics necessary for either Paenungulata or Perissodactyla, making their former assessment as afrotheres a possibility...
Eritherium shared similarities in the structure of their teeth with other Paenungulata such as the extinct Embrithopoda or early representatives of the manatees...
The class Mammalia (mammals) is divided into two subclasses based on reproductive techniques: monotremes, which lay eggs, and therians, mammals which give...
The Shungura Formation is a stratigraphic formation located in the Omo river basin in Ethiopia. It dates to the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene. Oldowan...
Perissodactyla) are sister groups together making up the superorder Paenungulata. Altungulata is not supported by molecular evidence unless perissodactyls...
(dugongs and manatees) and the hyraxes, with which they share the clade Paenungulata within the superorder Afrotheria. Elephants and sirenians are further...
Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla with the Tubulidentata and the superorder Paenungulata, as well as a number of orders known only from fossils. Simpson established...
Tethytheria, combined with Hyracoidea (hyraxes), forms a clade called Paenungulata. Paenungulata and Tethytheria (especially the latter) are among the least controversial...
was a genus of herbivorous hyrax-grouped mammal belonging to the clade Paenungulata. John G Fleagle; Christopher C. Gilbert (3 December 2007). Elwyn Simons:...
Tethytheria, combined with Hyracoidea (hyraxes), forms a clade called Paenungulata. Paenungulata and Tethytheria (especially the latter) are among the least controversial...
Aardvark (Orycteropus afer; extirpated in South Asia circa 13,000 BCE) Paenungulata Tethytheria Proboscideans Stegodontidae Stegodon spp. (including Stegodon...
†Pyrotheria Mirorder Altungulata Order Perissodactyla Order Uranotheria or Paenungulata McKenna, Malcolm C.; Bell, Susan K. (1997). Classification of mammals...
except on the island continent of Australia. Among recent mammals, Paenungulata (hyraxes, elephants, and sea cows), Perissodactyla (horses, rhinoceroses...
surfaces during locomotion. Like modern elephants, woolly mammoths were Paenungulata, meaning they walked on their toes and had large, fleshy pads behind...
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