Ferungulata
| Ferungulates | |
|---|---|
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| Plains zebras | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Clade: | Scrotifera |
| Clade: | Fereuungulata |
| Subgroups | |
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Traditional: Revised: |
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Traditional:
Revised:
Ferungulata or Fereuungulata is a clade of placental mammals that groups together various carnivorans and ungulates. 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 traditional Ferungulata was established by George Gaylord Simpson in 1945. 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. Although Simpson placed whales (Cetacea) in a separate cohort, recent evidence linking them to Artiodactyla would mean that they belong here as well.
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. These studies separated his ungulate orders into two distinct placental groups, within Afrotheria and Laurasiatheria, respectively. The 'true' ungulates, Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla, along with the whales, are included in the revised group, along with the Carnivora, and with the addition of pangolins (Pholidota), but the Tubulidentata and paenungulates are excluded. To reflect this difference, the revised clade is usually referred to as Fereuungulata. The Fereuungulata is a sister group to the Chiroptera (bats) and together they make up Scrotifera.
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Wikipedia