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Preptotheria

(Superorder)

Overview

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A taxonomic superorder.

Photos

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Taxonomy

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The Superorder Preptotheria is a member of the Magnorder Epitheria. Here is the complete "parentage" of Preptotheria:

The Superorder Preptotheria is further organized into finer groupings including:

Orders

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Afrosoricida

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Anagalida

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Arctostylopida

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Artiodactyla

The even- ungulates form the mammal order Artiodactyla, the group that contains the pigs, peccaries, hippopotamuses, camels, chevrotains (mouse deer), deer, giraffes, pronghorn, antelopes, sheep, goats, and cattle. They are ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third and fourth toes, rather than mostly or entirely by the third as in odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls). Another key distinguishing feature is the shape of the astragalus, a bone in the ankle joint, which has a double-pulley structure. This gives the foot greater flexibility. [more]

Astrapotheria

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Carnivora

The diverse Carnivora " class="IPA">/?k?rn?'v??r?/; from Latin caro (stem carn-) "flesh", + vorare "to devour") includes over 260 species of placental mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" (often popularly applied to members of this group) can refer to any meat-eating animal. Carnivorans are the most diverse in size of any mammalian order, ranging from the Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis), at as little as 25 grams (0.88 oz) and 11 centimetres (4.3 in), to the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) which can weigh up to 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb), to the Southern Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina) whose adult males weigh up to 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb) and measure up to 6.9 metres (23 ft) in length. [more]

Cete

An Order in the Kingdom Animalia. [more]

Chiroptera

Bats are in the order Chiroptera . The forelimbs of bats are developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of flight (opposed to other mammals, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums and colugos, that glide only for a distance). Bats do not flap arms like birds, instead they flap spread out hands where their fingers are very long and covered with a thin membrane or patagium. Chiroptera comes from two Greek words cheir (?e??) "hand" and pteron (pte???) "wing." [more]

Cimolesta

Cimolesta (from Greek, literally, "White Clay Thieves") is an extinct of mammals. A few experts place the pangolins within Cimolesta, though most other experts prefer to place the pangolins within their own order, Pholidota. [more]

Condylarthra

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Creodonta

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Deltatheroida

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Dermoptera

Colugos are gliding mammals found in South-east Asia. There are just two extant species, which make up the entire family Cynocephalidae (pronounced /sa?'n?.s?f'??l??di?/) and order Dermoptera. They are the most capable of all gliding mammals, using flaps of extra skin between their legs to glide from higher to lower locations. They are also known as cobegos or flying lemurs, though they are not true lemurs. [more]

Dinocerata

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Dryolestida

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Erinaceomorpha

Erinaceidae is the only living family in the order of the Erinaceomorpha. It contains the well-known (subfamily Erinaceinae) of Eurasia and Africa and the gymnures or moonrats (subfamily Galericinae) of South-east Asia. This family was once considered part of the order Insectivora, but that polyphyletic order is now considered defunct. [more]

Haramiyoidea

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Lagomorpha

The lagomorphs are the members of the taxonomic Lagomorpha, of which there are two families, the Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and the Ochotonidae (pikas). The name of the order is derived from the Greek lagos (?a???, "hare") and morphe (µ??f?, "form"). [more]

Litopterna

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Mimotonida

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Mixodontia

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Morganucodonta

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Notoungulata

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Perissodactyla

The odd- ungulates are browsing and grazing mammals such as horses, tapirs and rhinoceroses whose hooves each feature an odd number of toes. The middle toe on each hoof is also usually larger than its neighbors. Together, odd-toed ungulates form the order Perissodactyla. [more]

Primates

A primate is a member of the biological Primates ( pri·ma'·tez; Latin: "prime, first rank"), the group that contains lemurs, the Aye-aye, lorisids, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including great apes. With the exception of humans, who inhabit every continent on Earth, most primates live in tropical or subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa and Asia. Primates range in size from the Pygmy Mouse Lemur weighing only 30 grams (1.1 oz) to the Mountain Gorilla weighing 200 kilograms (440 lb). According to fossil evidence, the primitive ancestors of primates may have existed in the late Cretaceous period around 65 million years ago, and the oldest known primate is the Late Paleocene Plesiadapis, c. 55–58 million years ago. Molecular clock studies suggest that the primate branch may be even older, originating in the mid-Cretaceous period around 85 mya. [more]

Procreodi

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Proteutheria

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Pyrotheria

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Rodentia

Rodentia is an of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing. [more]

Scandentia

The treeshrews (or tree shrews) are small native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. They make up the families Tupaiidae and Ptilocercidae and the entire order Scandentia. There are 20 species in 5 genera. Treeshrews have a higher brain to body mass ratio than humans, though this is not uncommon for animals weighing less than a kilogram.[citation needed] [more]

Soricomorpha

The Soricomorpha ("shrew-form") is a biological clade within the class of mammals. In previous years it formed a significant group within the former Insectivora order. However, that order was shown to be polyphyletic and various new orders were split off from it, including Afrosoricida (tenrecs and golden moles), Macroscelidea (elephant shrews), and Erinaceomorpha (hedgehogs and gymnures), leaving just four families as shown here, leaving Insectivora empty and disbanded. The order ranges in size from the Etruscan Shrew, at about 3.5 cm and 2 grams, to the Cuban Solenodon, at about 32 cm and 1000 grams. [more]

Spalacotherioidea

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Therapsida

Therapsida is a group of that include mammals and their immediate evolutionary ancestors. Other than the mammals, all lineages of the therapsids are extinct, with the last known non-mammalian therapsids dying out in the Early Cretaceous period. [more]

Tubulidentata

The Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) (: from Africa) is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is sometimes called "antbear", "anteater", "Cape anteater" (after the Cape of Good Hope), "earth hog" or "earth pig". The name comes from the Afrikaans/Dutch for "earth pig" (aarde earth, varken pig), because early settlers from Europe thought it resembled a domesticated pig. However, the aardvark is not closely related to the pig; rather, it is the sole recent representative of the obscure mammalian order Tubulidentata, in which it is usually considered to form a single variable species of the genus Orycteropus, coextensive with the family Orycteropodidae. The aardvark is not closely related to the South American anteater, despite sharing some characteristics and a superficial resemblance. The closest living relatives of the aardvark are the elephant shrews, along with the sirenians, hyraxes, tenrecs, and elephants. [more]

Uranotheria

Paenungulata is a taxon that groups some remarkable constituting three orders: Proboscidea (elephants), Sirenia (sea cows, including dugongs and manatees), and Hyracoidea (hyraxes, such as the African Rock Hyrax, Procavia habessinica). [more]

Xenungulata

[more]

More info about the Order Xenungulata may be found here.

Sources

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Last Revised: September 22, 2009
2009/09/22 07:24:31