Mammal classification

Mammalia is a class of animal within the phylum Chordata. Mammal classification has been through several iterations since Carl Linnaeus initially defined the class. No classification system is universally accepted; McKenna & Bell (1997) and Wilson & Reader (2005) provide useful recent compendiums.[1] Many earlier ideas from Linnaeus et al. have been completely abandoned by modern taxonomists, among these are the idea that bats are related to birds or that humans represent a group outside of other living things.[2] Competing ideas about the relationships of mammal orders do persist and are currently in development. Most significantly in recent years, cladistic thinking has led to an effort to ensure that all taxonomic designations represent monophyletic groups. The field has also seen a recent surge in interest and modification due to the results of molecular phylogenetics.

Over 70% of mammal species are in the orders Rodentia (blue), Chiroptera (red) and Soricomorpha (yellow).
  Rodentia
  Chiroptera
  Soricomorpha
  Primates
  Carnivora
  Artiodactyla
  Diprotodontia
  Lagomorpha
  Didelphimorphia
  Cetacea
  Dasyuromorphia
  Afrosoricida
  Erinaceomorpha
  Cingulata
  Peramelemorphia
  Scandentia
  Perissodactyla
  Macroscelidea
  Pilosa
  Monotremata
  Proboscidea

George Gaylord Simpson's classic "Principles of Classification and a Classification of Mammals" (Simpson, 1945) taxonomy text laid out a systematics of mammal origins and relationships that was universally taught until the end of the 20th century.

Since Simpson's 1945 classification, the paleontological record has been recalibrated, and the intervening years have seen much debate and progress concerning the theoretical underpinnings of systematization itself, partly through the new concept of cladistics. Though field work gradually made Simpson's classification outdated, it remained the closest thing to an official classification of mammals. See List of placental mammals and List of monotremes and marsupials for more detailed information on mammal genera and species.

Molecular classification of placentals

Molecular studies by molecular systematists, based on DNA analysis, in the early 21st century have revealed new relationships among mammal families. Classification systems based on molecular studies reveal three major groups or lineages of placental mammals, Afrotheria, Xenarthra, and Boreotheria. which diverged from early common ancestors in the Cretaceous.[3]

The relationships between these three lineages is contentious, and all three have been proposed as basal in different hypotheses.[3][4]

The first divergence was that of the Afrotheria 110–100 million years ago (mya). The Afrotheria proceeded to evolve and diversify in the isolation of the African-Arabian continent. The Xenarthra, isolated in South America, diverged from the Boreoeutheria approximately 100–95 mya. The Boreoeutheria split into the Laurasiatheria and Euarchontoglires between 95 and 85 mya; both of these groups evolved on the northern continent of Laurasia.

After tens of millions of years of relative isolation, Africa-Arabia collided with Eurasia, and the formation of the Isthmus of Panama linked South America and North America, facilitating the distribution of mammals seen today. With the exception of bats and murine rodents, no placental land mammals reached Australasia until the first human settlers arrived approximately 50,000 years ago.

It should however be noted that these molecular results are still controversial mainly because they are not reflected by morphological data and thus not accepted by many systematists. It is also important to note that fossil taxa are not and, in most cases cannot, be included. Although there are instances of DNA being recovered from prehistoric mammals such as the ground sloth Mylodon and Neanderthal humans, Homo neanderthalensis, fossils can generally only be incorporated in morphological analyses.

The following taxonomy only includes living placentals (infraclass Eutheria):

Afrotheria

Xenarthra

Euarchontoglires
Masoala fork-marked lemur (Cheirogaleus) Phaner furcifer

Laurasiatheria

Standardized textbook classification

A somewhat standardized classification system has been adopted by most current mammalogy classroom textbooks. The following taxonomy of extant and recently extinct mammals is taken from the 6th edition of Vaughan's Mammalogy.[1] This approach emphasizes an initial split between egg-laying prototherians and live-bearing therians. The therians are further divided into the marsupial Metatheria and the "placental" Eutheria. No attempt is made in this classification to further distinguish among the orders within these subclasses and infraclasses. This system also makes no note of the position of entirely fossil groups.

In this and later taxonomies, families are merely listed under the order to which they belong. More detailed relationships among families is presented in the article of each order.

Subclass Prototheria

Subclass Theria

McKenna/Bell classification

In 1997, the mammals were comprehensively revised by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell, which has resulted in the "McKenna/Bell classification".

McKenna and Bell, Classification of Mammals: Above the species level, (McKenna & Bell, 1997) is a comprehensive work on the systematics, relationships, and occurrences of all mammal taxa, living and extinct, down through the rank of genus. The authors worked together as paleontologists at the American Museum of Natural History, New York. McKenna inherited the project from Simpson and, with Bell, constructed a completely updated hierarchical system, covering living and extinct taxa that reflects the historical genealogy of Mammalia.

The McKenna/Bell hierarchical listing of all of the terms used for mammal groups above the species includes extinct mammals as well as modern groups, and introduces some fine distinctions such as legions and sublegions and ranks which fall between classes and orders that are likely to be glossed over by the layman.

Click on the highlighted link for a table comparing the traditional and the new McKenna/Bell classifications of mammals.

Extinct groups are represented by †.

Subclass Prototheria

(monotremes)

Subclass Theriiformes

Luo, Kielan-Jaworowska, and Cifelli classification

Several important fossil mammal discoveries have been made that have led researchers to question many of the relationships proposed by McKenna and Bell (1997). Additionally, researchers are subjecting taxonomic hypotheses to more rigorous cladistic analyses of early mammal fossils. Luo et al. (2002) summarized existing ideas and proposed new ideas of relationships among mammals at the most basal level. They argued that the term mammal should be defined based on characters (especially the dentary-squamosal jaw articulation) instead of a crown-based definition (the group that contains most recent common ancestor of monotremes and therians and all of its descendants). Their definition of Mammalia is roughly equal to the Mammaliaformes as defined by McKenna and Bell (1997) and other authors. They also define their taxonomic levels as clades and do not apply Linnean hierarchies.

Mammalia

Simplified classification for non-specialists

The following classification is a simplified version based on current understanding suitable for non-specialists who want to understand how living genera are related to each other. The classification ignores differences in levels and thus cannot be used to estimate the respective distances between taxa. It also ignores taxa that became extinct in pre-historic times. Finally, English names are preferred whenever they exist. This makes it especially suited for non-specialists who wish to gain an easy overview. For the full picture, the non-simplified versions above should be consulted.

  • Monotremes (prototheria): echidnas and platypus
    • Platypus
    • Echidnas (tachyglossids)
  • Live-bearing mammals (theria)
    • Marsupials
      • Opossums (didelphids)
      • Shrew opossums (caenolestids)
      • Australodelphia: Australian marsupials and monito del Monte
        • Monito del Monte
        • Dasyuromorphs
          • Dasyurids: antechinuses, quolls, dunnarts, Tasmanian devil, and allies
          • Numbat
        • Peramelemorphs: bilbies and bandicoots
          • Bilbies (thylacomyids)
          • Bandicoots (peramelids)
        • Marsupial moles (notoryctids)
        • Diprotodonts
          • Koala
          • Wombats (vombatids)
          • Phalangerids: brushtail possums and cuscuses
          • Pygmy possums (burramyids)
          • Honey possum
          • Petaurids: striped and Leadbeater's possums, and yellow-bellied, suger, mahogany and squirrel glider
          • Ringtailed possums (pseudocheirids)
          • Potorids: potoroos, rat kangaroos and bettongs
          • Acrobatids: feathertail glider and feather-tailed possum
          • Musky rat-kangaroo
          • Macropodids: kangaroos, wallabies and allies
    • Placentals
      • Atlantic placentals (atlantogenatans)
        • Afroplacentals (afrotherians)
          • Afroinsectiphilians: elephant shrews, tenrecs, otter shrews, golden moles, and aardvark
            • Elephant shrews (macroscelidids)
            • Afrosoricids: tenrecs and golden moles
              • Tenrecids: tenrecs and otter shrews
              • Golden moles (chrysochlorids)
            • Aardvark
          • Paenungulates: hyraxes, elephants, dugongs and manatees
            • Hyraxes or dassies (procaviids)
            • Elephants (elephantids)
            • Sirenians: dugong and manatees
              • Dugong
              • Manatees (trichechids)
        • Xenarthrans
          • Pilosans: sloths and anteaters
            • Anteaters (vermilinguans)
              • Silky anteater
              • Myrmecophagids: giant anteater and tamanduas
            • Sloths (folivorans)
              • Three-toed sloths (bradypodids)
              • Two-toed sloths (megalonychids)
          • Armadillos (dasypodids)
      • Northern placentals (boreoeutherians)
        • Supraprimates (euarchontoglires)
          • Euarchontans: treeshrews, colugos and primates
            • Treeshrews (scandentians)
              • Tupaiids: all treeshrews except pen-tailed
              • Pen-tailed treeshrew
            • Colugos or flying lemurs (cynocephalids)
            • Primates
              • Strepsirrhines: lemur- and loris-like primates
                • Lemur-like primates (lemuriforms)
                  • Cheirogaleids: dwarf lemurs and mouse-lemurs
                  • Aye-aye
                  • True lemurs (lemurids)
                  • Sportive lemurs (lepilemurids)
                  • Indriids: woolly lemurs and allies
                • Loris-like primates (lorisiforms)
                  • Lorisids: lorises, pottos and allies
                  • Galagos (galagids)
              • Haplorhines: tarsiers, monkeys and apes
                • Tarsiers (tarsiids)
                • Anthropoid primates
                  • New World monkeys (platyrrhines)
                    • Callitrichids: marmosets and tamarins
                    • Cebids: capuchins and squirrel monkeys
                    • Aotids: night or owl monkeys
                    • Pitheciids: titis, sakis and uakaris
                    • Atelids: howler, spider, woolly spider, and woolly monkeys
                  • Catarrhines
                    • Old World monkeys (cercopithecids)
                    • Hominoid primates
                      • Gibbons (hylobatids)
                      • Great apes (hominids): incl. Humans
          • Glires: pikas, rabbits, hares, and rodents
            • Lagomorphs: pikas, rabbits and hares
              • Leporids: rabbits and hares
              • Pikas (ochotonids)
            • Rodents
              • Anomalure-like rodents (anomaluromorphs): Scaly-tailed squirrels and springhares
                • Scaly-tailed squirrels or anomalures (anomalurids)
                • Springhares (pedetids)
              • Beaver-like rodents (castorimorphs)
                • Beavers (castorids)
                • Gopher-like rodents (geomyoid rodents)
                  • Pocket or true gophers (geomyids)
                  • Heteromyids: kangaroo rats and kangaroo mice
              • Porcupine-like rodents (hystricomorphs)
                • Laotian rock rat
                • Gundis (ctenodactylids)
                • Hystricognaths
                  • African mole rats (bathyergids)
                  • Old World porcupines (hystricids)
                  • Dassie rat
                  • Cane rats (thryonomyids)
                  • Cavy-like rodents (caviomorphs)
                    • Chinchilla rats (abrocomids)
                    • Hutias (capromyids)
                    • Cavies (caviids): incl. Guinea pigs and capybara
                    • Chinchillids: chinchillas and viscachas
                    • Tuco-tucos (ctenomyids)
                    • Agoutis (dasyproctids)
                    • Pacas (cuniculids)
                    • Pacarana
                    • Spiny rats (echymyids)
                    • New World porcupines (erethizontids)
                    • Myocastorids: nutria and coypu
                    • Octodonts (octodontids): Andean rock-rats, degus and viscacha-rats
              • Mouse-like rodents (myomorphs)
                • Dipodids: jerboas and jumping mice
                • Muroid rodents
                  • Mouse-like hamsters (calomyscids)
                  • Cricetids: hamsters, New World rats and mice, voles
                  • Murids: true mice and rats, gerbils, spiny mice, crested rat
                  • Nesomyids: climbing mice, rock mice, white-tailed rat, Malagasy rats and mice
                  • Spiny dormice (platacanthomyids)
                  • Spalacids: mole rats, bamboo rats, and zokors
              • Squirrel-like rodents (sciuromorphs)
                • Mountain beaver
                • Dormice (glirids)
                • Squirrels (sciurids): incl. chipmunks, prairie dogs, and marmots
        • Laurasian placentals (laurasiatherians)
          • Hedgehogs (erinaceids)
          • Soricomorphs: moles, shrews, solenodons
            • Shrews (soricids)
            • Moles (talpids)
            • Solenodons (solenodontids)
          • Ferungulates: ungulates, cetaceans, bats, pangolins and carnivorans
            • Cetartiodactyls: even-toed ungulates and cetaceans
              • Camelids: camels and llamas
              • Swine (suinans): pigs and peccaries
                • Pigs (suids)
                • Peccaries (tayassuids)
              • Cetruminantians: cetaceans, hippos and ruminants
                • Cetancodonts: cetaceans and hippos
                  • Cetaceans: Whales, dolphins and porpoises
                    • Baleen whales (mysticetes)
                      • Balaenids: right whales and bowhead whale
                      • Rorquals (balaenopterids)
                      • Gray whale
                      • Pygmy right whale
                    • Toothed whales (odontocetes)
                      • Dolphins (delphinids)
                      • Monodontids: beluga and narwhal
                        • Beluga
                        • Narwhal
                      • Porpoises (phocoenids)
                      • Sperm whale
                      • Kogiids: pygmy and dwarf sperm whale
                      • River dolphins (platanistoid whales)
                        • Iniids: Amazon and Bolivian river dolphin
                        • La Plata dolphin
                        • Platanistids: Ganges and Indus river dolphins
                      • Beaked whales (ziphids)
                  • Hippos (hippopotamids)
                • Ruminantiamorphs: chevrotains, pronghorn, giraffes, musk deer, deer, and bovids
                  • Chevrotains (tragulids)
                  • Pecorans
                    • Pronghorn
                    • Giraffids: giraffe and okapi
                    • Musk deer (moschids)
                    • Deer (cervids)
                    • Bovids: cattle, goats, sheep and antelope
            • Pegasoferans: bats, odd-toed ungulates, pangolins and carnivorans
              • Bats (chiropterans)
                • Megabats (pteropodids)
                • Microbats (microchiropterans)
                  • Sac-winged or sheath-tailed bats (emballonurids)
                  • Rhinopomatoid bats
                    • Mouse-tailed bats (rhinopomatids)
                    • Bumblebee bat or Kitti's hog-nosed bat
                  • Rhinolophoid bats
                    • Horseshoe bats (rhinolophids)
                    • Hollow-faced or slit-faced bats (nycterids)
                    • False vampires (megadermatids)
                  • Vesper bats or evening bats (vespertilionids)
                  • Molossoid bats
                    • Free-tailed bats (molossids)
                    • Pallid bats (antrozoids)
                  • Nataloid bats
                    • Funnel-eared bats (natalids)
                    • Sucker-footed bats (myzopodids)
                    • Disc-winged bats (thyropterids)
                    • Smoky bats (furipterids)
                  • Noctilionoid bats
                    • Bulldog or fisherman bats (noctilionids)
                    • New Zealand short-tailed bats (mystacinids)
                    • Ghost-faced or moustached bats (mormoopids)
                    • Leaf-nosed bats (phyllostomids)
              • Zooamatans: odd-toed ungulates, pangolins and carnivorans
                • Odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls)
                  • Horses (equids)
                  • Ceratomorphs
                    • Tapirs (tapirids)
                    • Rhinoceroses (rhinocerotids)
                • Ferans
                  • Pangolins or scaly anteaters (manids)
                  • Carnivorans
                    • Cat-like carnivorans (feliforms)
                      • African palm civet
                      • Feloid carnivorans
                        • Asiatic linsangs (prionodontids)
                        • Cats (felids)
                      • Viverroid carnivorans
                        • Viverrids: civets and allies
                        • Herpestoid carnivorans
                          • Hyaenids: hyenas and aardwolf
                          • Malagasy carnivorans (euplerids)
                          • Herpestids: mongooses and allies
                    • Dog-like carnivorans (caniforms)
                      • Canids: dogs and allies
                      • Arctoid carnivorans
                        • Bears (ursids)
                        • Musteloid carnivorans
                          • Red panda
                          • Mephitids: skunks and stink badgers
                          • Mustelids: weasels, martens, badgers, wolverines, minks, ferrets and otters
                          • Procyonids: raccoons and allies
                        • Pinnipeds
                          • Walrus
                          • Otariids: sea lions, eared seals, fur seals
                          • True seals (phocids)

See also

References
  1. Vaughan, Terry A.; Ryan, James M.; Czaplewski, Nicholas J. (2015). "Chapter 4: Classification of Mammals" (PDF). Mammalogy (Sixth ed.). ISBN 9781284032093.
  2. Marks, Jonathan M. (1995). Human Biodiversity: Genes, Race, and History. ISBN 9780202366562.
  3. Kriegs, Jan Ole; Churakov, Gennady; Kiefmann, Martin; Jordan, Ursula; Brosius, Jürgen; Schmitz, Jürgen (2006). "Retroposed Elements as Archives for the Evolutionary History of Placental Mammals". PLoS Biology. 4 (4): e91. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0040091. PMC 1395351. PMID 16515367.
  4. Nishihara, H.; Maruyama, S.; Okada, N. (2009). "Retroposon analysis and recent geological data suggest near-simultaneous divergence of the three superorders of mammals". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (13): 5235–5240. Bibcode:2009PNAS..106.5235N. doi:10.1073/pnas.0809297106. PMC 2655268. PMID 19286970.
  5. "Afrotherian Systematics". IUCN Afrotheria Specialist Group. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  6. "Tenrecidae". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  7. "Potamogalidae". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  8. Gibb, Gillian C.; Condamine, Fabien L.; Kuch, Melanie; Enk, Jacob; Moraes-Barros, Nadia; Superina, Mariella; Poinar, Hendrik N.; Delsuc, Frédéric (2016). "Shotgun Mitogenomics Provides a Reference Phylogenetic Framework and Timescale for Living Xenarthrans". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 33 (3): 621–642. doi:10.1093/molbev/msv250. ISSN 0737-4038. PMC 4760074. PMID 26556496.
  • Ji, Q.; Luo, Z.-X.; Yuan, C.-X.; Tabrum, A. R. (2006). "A swimming mammaliaform from the Middle Jurassic and ecomorphological diversification of early mammals". Science. 311 (5764): 1123–1127. doi:10.1126/science.1123026. PMID 16497926.
  • Luo, Z.-X.; Kielan-Jaworowska, Z.; Cifelli, R. L. (2002). "In quest for a phylogeny of Mesozoic mammals". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 47: 1–78.
  • McKenna, Malcolm C., and Bell, Susan K. 1997. Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press, New York, 631 pp. ISBN 0-231-11013-8
  • Nowak, Ronald M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1936 pp. ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
  • Simpson, George Gaylord (1945). "The principles of classification and a classification of mammals". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 85: 1–350.
  • Springer, Mark S.; Stanhope, Michael J.; Madsen, Ole; Wilfried (2004). "Molecules consolidate the placental mammal tree" (PDF). Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 19 (8): 430–438. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2004.05.006. PMID 16701301.
  • Vaughan, Terry A., James M. Ryan, and Nicholas J. Capzaplewski. 2000. Mammalogy: Fourth Edition. Saunders College Publishing, 565 pp. ISBN 0-03-025034-X (Brooks Cole, 1999)
  • Wilson, Don E., and Deeann M. Reeder (eds). 1993. Mammal Species of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1206 pp. ISBN 1-56098-217-9
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