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Afrosoricida
The clade Afrosoricida (a Latin-Greek compound name which means "looking like African shrews") contains the golden moles of Southern Africa, the otter shrews of equatorial Africa and the tenrecs of Madagascar. These three groups of small mammals were for most of the 19th and 20th centuries regarded as a part of the Insectivora or Lipotyphla, but both of those groups, as traditionally used, are polyphyletic. Naming Some biologists use Tenrecoidea or Tenrecomorpha as the name for the tenrec-golden mole clade and regard Afrosoricida as a junior synonym (even though the rules of the ICZN do not apply above the Linnean rank of family). This is based on the principles of Simpson, summarized by Asher & Helgen to mean that "priority and stability should comprise the overriding principles by which new, high-level taxa are named. Established names for any given clade should not be altered unless the name with precedent unambiguously threatens stability." When "Afrosoricida" was first nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Mole
Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing mammals endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. They comprise the family Chrysochloridae (the only family in the suborder Chrysochloridea) and as such they are taxonomically distinct from the true moles, family Talpidae, and other mole-like families, all of which, to various degrees, they resemble as a result of evolutionary convergence. There are 21 species. Some (e.g., ''Chrysochloris asiatica'', ''Amblysomus hottentotus'') are relatively common, whereas others (e.g., species of ''Chrysospalax'', ''Cryptochloris'', ''Neamblysomus'') are rare and endangered. Taxonomy Despite their extreme evolutionary convergence with moles, their closest relatives are the otter shrews and tenrecs. They are more distantly related to other insectivorous African mammals such as aardvarks and elephant shrews, and even more distantly related to elephants and sirenians. Characteristics and affinities Like most burrowing mammals with similar habits, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec
The lesser hedgehog tenrec (''Echinops telfairi'') is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Echinops'' and is named in honour of Charles Telfair. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, shrubland, and shrubland and dry savanna. Description The lesser hedgehog tenrec is a small, stout-bodied animal visually similar to a hedgehog, hence the name. Their tails are short, their limbs and muzzles are of moderate length, and their ears are prominent. The entire dorsum is covered with sharp spines. Color is usually yellow buff; individuals range from near white to almost black. Head and body length is . Weight is about . Lesser hedgehog tenrecs (like all tenrecs) have a cloaca (common urogenital opening), like a bird or a reptile. Behavior This tenrec is terrestrial. It spends its daytime hours resting under a log, a pile of branches, leaves, straws or in a hollow tree, although trees ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenrecomorpha
Tenrecomorpha is the suborder of otter shrews and tenrecs, a group of afrotherian mammals indigenous to equatorial Africa and Madagascar, respectively. The two families are thought to have split about 47–53 million years ago. Potamogalidae, Potamogalid otter shrews were formerly considered a subfamily of Tenrecidae. The suborder is also presumed to contain the extinct genus ''Plesiorycteropus'', a group of possibly fossorial insectivores similar to aardvarks, which is known to be more closely related to tenrecs of subfamily Tenrecinae than to golden moles of suborder Chrysochloridea. Otter shrews are carnivorous and semiaquatic, preying on any aquatic animal they can find with their sensitive whiskers. All tenrecs are believed to descend from a common ancestor that lived 29–37 million years (Ma) ago after Oceanic dispersal, rafting from Africa to Madagascar in a single event. Tenrecs are widely diverse; as a result of convergent evolution they resemble hedgehogs, shrews, oposs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grant's Golden Mole
Grant's golden mole (''Eremitalpa granti''; colloquially also: ''dune shark'') is a golden mole species. It is the only member of the genus ''Eremitalpa''. Description Like all other golden moles, the build of these animals is similar to the moles, though they are not closely related, and are adapted to a life of digging. The front extremities are remodelled to digging claws; in contrast to most other species of its family, they have three claws each. The tail is physically not visible, there are no auricles, the eyes are covered with fur, and the mouth is bearing a leather-like pad, which also serves for digging. Grant's golden moles have long silky fur, which is coloured grey on cubs and sandy on older animals. With a length of and a weight of it is the smallest member of family Chrysocholoridae. Geographical distribution and habitat Grant's golden mole lives on the western coast of South Africa and in south western Namibia. Its natural habitat is dry areas, mostly sandy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otter Shrew
Potamogalidae is the family of "otter shrews", a group of semiaquatic riverine afrotherian mammals indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. They are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar, from which they are thought to have split about 47–53 million years ago. They were formerly considered a subfamily of Tenrecidae. All otter shrews are carnivorous, preying on any aquatic animal they can find with their sensitive whiskers, particularly insects. As their common name suggests, they bear a strong, but superficial resemblance to true otters to which they are not closely related, nor are they closely related to true shrews. They move through the water by undulating their tail in a side-to-side motion similar to the motions made by a crocodile swimming. Morphology Otter shrews have small eyes and ears, consistent with the features of nearly all shrews. They have a broad, flat, muzzle that is substantially covered with sensitive whiskers and ends in a leathery pad. The margin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammal
A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles, middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles and birds, from which their ancestors Genetic divergence, diverged in the Carboniferous Period over 300 million years ago. Around 6,640 Neontology#Extant taxon, extant species of mammals have been described and divided into 27 Order (biology), orders. The study of mammals is called mammalogy. The largest orders of mammals, by number of species, are the rodents, bats, and eulipotyphlans (including hedgehogs, Mole (animal), moles and shrews). The next three are the primates (including humans, monkeys and lemurs), the Artiodactyl, even-toed ungulates (including pigs, camels, and whales), and the Carnivora (including Felidae, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dilambdogale
''Dilambdogale'' is an extinct genus of afrosoricid which existed in Fayum, Egypt during the latest Eocene (earliest Priabonian age). It was first named by Erik R. Seiffert in 2010 and the type species is ''Dilambdogale gheerbranti''. ''Dilambdogale'' is the oldest known afrosoricid and its closest relative was '' Widanelfarasia''. Cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ... based on Seiffert (2010): References Prehistoric eutherians Fossil taxa described in 2010 Eocene mammals Eocene mammals of Africa Prehistoric placental genera {{paleo-afrotheria-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Widanelfarasia
''Widanelfarasia'' is an extinct genus of placental mammals known from the Late Eocene Jebel Qatrani Formation of Egypt. Two species are known: ''W. bowni'' and the smaller ''W. rasmusseni''. Described in 2000 by E. R. Seiffert and Elwyn L. Simons, ''Widanelfarasia'' was initially classified as uncertain position (''incertae sedis'') within placentals, but was later placed within the afrosoricidan suborder Tenrecomorpha (tenrec A tenrec () is a mammal belonging to any species within the afrotherian family Tenrecidae, which is endemic to Madagascar. Tenrecs are a very diverse group, as a result of adaptive radiation, and exhibit convergent evolution, some resemble hed ...s and otter shrews). The genus name derives from Widan el-Faras (Arabic for "Ears of the Mare"), two prominent hills in the area where the fossils were recovered. References Eocene mammals of Africa Fossil taxa described in 2000 Afrosoricida Prehistoric placental genera {{paleo-afrotheria-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cloaca
A cloaca ( ), : cloacae ( or ), or vent, is the rear orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive (rectum), reproductive, and urinary tracts (if present) of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles, birds, cartilaginous fish and a few mammals ( monotremes, afrosoricids, and marsupial moles, etc.) have this orifice, from which they excrete both urine and feces; this is in contrast to most placental mammals, which have separate orifices for evacuation and reproduction. Excretory openings with analogous purpose in some invertebrates are also sometimes called cloacae. Mating through the cloaca is called cloacal copulation and cloacal kissing. The cloacal region is also often associated with a secretory organ, the cloacal gland, which has been implicated in the scent-marking behavior of some reptiles, marsupials, amphibians, and monotremes. Etymology The word is from the Latin verb ''cluo'', "(I) cleanse", thus the noun ''cloaca'', " sewer, drain" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenrec
A tenrec () is a mammal belonging to any species within the afrotherian family Tenrecidae, which is endemic to Madagascar. Tenrecs are a very diverse group, as a result of adaptive radiation, and exhibit convergent evolution, some resemble hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, rats, and mice. They occupy aquatic, arboreal, terrestrial, and fossorial environments. Some of these species, including the greater hedgehog tenrec, can be found in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests. However, the speciation rate in this group has been higher in humid forests. All tenrecs are believed to descend from a common ancestor that lived 29–37 million years ago after rafting over from Africa. The split from their closest relatives, African otter shrews, is estimated to have occurred about 47–53 million years ago. Etymology The word "tenrec" is borrowed, via French, from the Malagasy word (variant of ), which refers to the tailless tenrec (''Tenrec ecaudatus''); the Malagasy word may be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Placental
Placental mammals (infraclass Placentalia ) are one of the three extant subdivisions of the class Mammalia, the other two being Monotremata and Marsupialia. Placentalia contains the vast majority of extant mammals, which are partly distinguished from monotremes and marsupials in that the fetus (biology), fetus is carried in the uterus of its mother to a relatively late stage of development. The name is something of a misnomer, considering that marsupials also nourish their fetuses via a placenta, though for a relatively briefer period, giving birth to less-developed young, which are then nurtured for a period inside the mother's pouch (marsupial), pouch. Placentalia represents the only living group within Eutheria, which contains all mammals that are more closely related to placentals than they are to marsupials. Anatomical features Placental mammals are anatomically distinguished from other mammals by: * a sufficiently wide opening at the bottom of the pelvis to allow the birt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insectivora
The Order (biology), order Insectivora (from Latin ''insectum'' "insect" and ''vorare'' "to eat") is a now-abandoned biological grouping within the class of mammals. Some species have now been moved out, leaving the remaining ones in the order Eulipotyphla within the larger clade Laurasiatheria, which makes up one of the Basal (phylogenetics), basal clades of placental mammals. History Before the era of widespread DNA sequencing, the grouping was used as a Polyphyly, polyphyletic taxon for a variety of small to very small, relatively unspecialised mammals that feed upon insects. Since any primitive-looking fossil group of placental mammals was commonly assigned to this order for convenience, it was held to constitute the basal stock out of which other placental orders had evolved. Therefore, at its widest extent, the order Insectivora represented an evolutionary grade rather than a clade. Taxonomy has been refined in recent years, and treeshrews, elephant shrews, and colugos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
