Pegasoferae ("winged beast") is a proposed

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

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 ...

s based on

genomic Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of molecular biology focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes as well as its hierarchical, ...

research in molecular systematics by Nishihara, Hasegawa and Okada (2006). To the surprise of the authors, their data led them to propose a clade that includes

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

s (order

Chiroptera Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

), carnivores such as

cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

s and dogs (order

Carnivora Carnivora ( ) is an order of placental mammals specialized primarily in eating flesh, whose members are formally referred to as carnivorans. The order Carnivora is the sixth largest order of mammals, comprising at least 279 species. Carnivor ...

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s and other odd-toed ungulates (order

Perissodactyla Perissodactyla (, ), or odd-toed ungulates, is an order of ungulates. The order includes about 17 living species divided into three families: Equidae (horses, asses, and zebras), Rhinocerotidae (rhinoceroses), and Tapiridae (tapirs). They t ...

) and pangolins (order

Pholidota Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (). The one Neontology, extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: ''Manis'', ''Phataginus'', and ''Smutsia''. ''Manis'' comprises four species found in Asia, ...

) as springing from a single

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

ary origin within the mammals. The name Pegasoferae was coined from the name of the mythological flying horse

Pegasus Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...

to refer to bats and horses, and the term

Ferae Ferae ( , , "wild beasts") is a mirorder of Placentalia, placental mammals in grandorder Ferungulata, that groups together clades Pan-Carnivora (that includes carnivorans and their fossil relatives) and Pholidotamorpha (pangolins and their fossi ...

, encompassing carnivorans and pangolins. According to this, the odd-toed ungulates' closest living relatives are the carnivorans. Earlier theories of mammalian evolution would, for example, have aligned bats with the

insectivores A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

(order

Eulipotyphla Eulipotyphla (, from '' eu-'' + '' Lipotyphla'', meaning truly lacking blind gut; sometimes called true insectivores) is an order of mammals comprising the Erinaceidae ( hedgehogs and gymnures); Solenodontidae (solenodons); Talpidae ( mole ...

) and horses with the even-toed ungulates (order

Artiodactyla Artiodactyls are placental mammals belonging to the order (biology), order Artiodactyla ( , ). Typically, they are ungulates which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes (the third and fourth, often in the form of a hoof ...

). Some subsequent molecular studies published shortly afterwards have failed to support it. In particular, two recent studies, each combining genome-wide analyses of multiple taxa with testing of competing alternative phylogenetic hypotheses, concluded that Pegasoferae is not a natural grouping.

Phylogeny

The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic relationships of laurasiatherian mammals following Nishihara et al. (2006).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q740132 Obsolete mammal taxa Scrotifera Pegasus