Mikko's Phylogeny Archive

Mammalia – mammals

Note:

Mammalia has been defined as a monophyletic group containing all living mammals [monotremes, marsupialians & placentals]. If recent work by Luo, Cifelli & Kielan-Jaworowska [2001] is accepted by the consensus of other paleomammalogist, will Mammalia be restricted even more inclusive group within holotheres.

Recently Kielan-Jaworowska, Cifelli & Luo (2004), and Luo & Wible (2005) have dropped Australophenida Luo, Cifelli & Kielan-Jaworowska, 2001 with †Shuotherium to the base of the mammalian radiation, basically to the position previously occupied by Prototheria Gill. Kielan-Jaworowska et al. also dropped the traditional Prototheria [Monotremata and its closest relatives] in flavor of Yinotheria Chow & Rich, and defined it as a root-based clade (all mammalians closer to Ornithorhynchus anatinus than Homo sapiens).

I present here four different views of basal mammalian phylogeny

After Kielan-Jaworowska, Cifelli & Luo, 2004, and Luo & Wible, 2005

<==o Mammalia Linnaeus, 1758 sensu stricto [Rowe, 1988 and McKenna & Bell, 1997] (mammals; nisäkkäät)
   |--o Yinotheria Chow & Rich, 1982 sensu Kielan-Jaworowska, Cifelli & Luo, 2004, and Luo & Wible, 2005 [Prototheria Gill, 1872]
   |  |--o †Shuotheriidae Chow & Rich, 1982 [Shuotheridia Chow & Rich, 1982]
   |  |  |-- †Pseudotribos robustus Luo, Ji & Yuan, 2007
   |  |  `--o †Shuontherium Chow & Rich, 1982
   |  |     |-- †S. dongi Chow & Rich, 1982
   |  |     |-- †S. shilongi Wang, Clemens, Hu & Li, 1998
   |  |     `-- †S. kermacki Sigogneau-Russell, 1998
   |  `-- Australophenida Luo, Cifelli & Kielan-Jaworowska, 2001 sensu Kielan-Jaworowska, Cifelli & Luo, 2004, and Luo & Wible, 2005 [incl. Monotremata and Ausktribosphenida] (platypus & echidinas; nokkaeläimet)
   `--+-- †Fruitafossor windscheffeli Luo & Wible, 2005
      |--o †Volaticotheria Meng, Y Hu, Y Wang, X Wang, & Li, 2006
      |  `-- †Volaticotherium antiquum Meng, Y Hu, Y Wang, X Wang, & Li, 2006 emend. Meng, Hu, Y. Wang, X. Wang & Li, 2007 [Volaticotherium antiquus Meng, Hu, Y. Wang, X. Wang, & Li, 2006]
      `--o Theriimorpha Rowe, 1993
         |-- †Triconodonta Osborn, 1888
         `--o Theriiformes Rowe, 1988
            |-- †Allotheria Marsh, 1880
            `-- Holotheria Wible, Rougier, Novacek, McKenna & Dashzeveg, 1995 [Patriotheria Simpson, 1971, Orthotheria Vandebroek, 1964, Theria] ("higher mammals"; "korkeammat nisäkkäät")

Mammalia incertae sedis:

    †Tikitherium copei Datta, 2005; U.Trias. Ind.

<==o Mammalia
   |-- Prototheria
   `--o Theriiformes
      |-- †Allotheria
      `--+-- †Triconodonta
         `-- Holotheria

<==o Mammalia
   |?- †Gondwanatheria
   |-- †Triconodonta
   `--+--+-- Prototheria
      |  `-- †Allotheria
      `-- Holotheria

<==o Mammalia
   |-- †Allotheria
   `--o Theriiformes [Theriimorpha]
      |-- †Triconodontidae
      `--+-- †Gobiconodontidae
         `--+-- †Amphilestidae
            `-- Holotheria

Reference(s):

• Burkitt, J. H., 1995: Mammals: A world listing of living and extinct species.
  –iNet: [file no longer available, looking for new link]
• Carroll, R. L., 1988: Vertebrate paleontology and evolution.
  –W. H. Freeman and company, New York, 1988, 698
• Carroll, R. L., 1988: Appendix. 594-648
  in Carroll, R. L., 1988: Vertebrate paleontology and evolution.
  –W. H. Freeman and company, New York, 1988, 698
• Datta, P. M., 2005: Earliest mammal with transversely expanded upper molar from the late Triassic (Carnian) Tiki Formation, South Rewa Gondwana basin, India.
  –Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: Vol. 25, #1, pp. 200-2007
• Kielan-Jaworowska, Z., Cifelli, R. L. & Luo, Z.-X., 2004: Mammals from the Age of Dinosaurs – origins, evolution, and structure.
  –Columbia University Press, New York, 2004, xv-630
• Luo, Z. 1994: Sister-group relationships of mammals and transformations of diagnostic mammalian characters. 98-128.
  in Fraser, N. C. & Sues, H-D. (eds.) 1994: In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs.
  –Cambridge University Press, New York, 1994, x-435
• Luo, Z.-X., Ji, Q. & Yuan, C.-X., 2007: Convergent dental adaptations in pseudo-tribosphenic and tribosphenic mammals.
  –Nature: Vol. 450, pp. 93-97 [doi: 10.1038/nature06221]
• Luo, Z.-X. & Wible, J. R., 2005: A Late Jurassic digging mammal and early mammalian diversification.
  –Science: Vol. 308, #5718, pp. 103-107 [doi: 10.1126/science.1108875]
• McKenna, M. C. & Bell, S. K., (eds.) 1997: Classification of mammals – above the species level.
  –Columbia University Press, New York, 1997, xii-631
• Meng, J., Hu, Y., Wang, Y., Wang, X.-l. & Li, C.-k., 2006: A Mesozoic gliding mammal from northeastern China.
  –Nature: Vol. 444, #7121, pp. 889-893 [doi: 10.1038/nature05234]
• Pascual, R., Archer, M., Jaureguizar, E. O., Prado, J. L., Godthelp, H. & Hand, S. J., 1992: First discovery of monotremes in South America.
  –Nature: Vol. 356, 23 April, pp.704-706
• Rich, T. H., Hopson, J. A., Musser, A. M., Flannery, T. F. & Vickers-Rich, P., 2005: Independent Origins of Middle Ear Bones in Monotremes and Therians.
  –Science: Vol. 307, #5711, pp. 910-914 [doi: 10.1126/science.1105717]
• Wang, Y., Hu, Y., Meng, J. & Li, C., 2001: An ossified Meckel's Cartilage in two Cretaceous mammals and origin of the mammalian middle ear.
  –Science: Vol. 294, pp. 357-361