Pholidotamorpha

Pholidotamorphs Temporal range:
Various Pholidotamorph genera; clockwise from top left: Manis, Ernanodon, Xenocranium, Metacheiromys, Eurotamandua, Eomanis.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Mirorder:	Ferae
Clade:	Pholidotamorpha Gaudin et al., 2009
Orders
Pholidota †Palaeanodonta

Pholidotamorpha ("pangolin-like forms") is a clade of placental, mostly ant- and termite-eating mammals that (partially) physically resemble the anteaters or armadillos. However, those aforementioned species are now placed in the order Xenarthra, along with sloths; Pholidotamorpha is now classified under the mirorder Ferae, which includes the order Carnivora (carnivorous mammals) and the pangolins (Pholidota) as well as the prehistoric order Palaeanodonta, containing only extinct species.

Classification and phylogeny

History of taxonomy

Both the Pholidota and Palaeanodonta orders were formerly placed with other orders of ant-eating mammals, most notably Xenarthra (armadillos, sloths, anteaters, which they superficially resemble); some palaeontologists, throughout the history of zoology, have placed pangolins and palaeanodonts as a suborder, Pholidota, in the greater order Cimolesta, alongside the extinct family Ernanodontidae as a separate suborder Ernanodonta near it. However, this idea fell out-of-favor when it was determined that cimolestids were not truly placental mammals.

Newer genetic evidence indicates instead that the closest living relatives to Pholidota are the members of order Carnivora, together forming the mirorder Ferae. In 2009, pangolins and palaeanodonts were together placed within the clade Pholidotamorpha. A 2012 study of new remains, found in Late Paleocene Mongolian strata, have led to the assessment that extinct genus Ernanodon is closely-related to another extinct genus, Metacheiromys, and is a member of the extinct order Palaeanodonta.

Classification

Clade: Pholidotamorpha (Gaudin, 2009) Order: Pholidota (Weber, 1904) (pangolins) Suborder: Eupholidota (Gaudin, 2009) (true pangolins) Family: †Eurotamanduidae (Szalay & Schrenk, 1994) Genus: †Euromanis (Gaudin, 2009) Incertae sedis †Pholidota sp. [BC 16’08] (Pickford, 2008) Order: †Palaeanodonta (Matthew, 1918) (stem-pangolins) Family: †Epoicotheriidae (paraphyletic family) (Simpson, 1927) Family: †Ernanodontidae (Ding, 1979) Family: †Escavadodontidae (Rose & Lucas, 2000) Family: †Metacheiromyidae (paraphyletic family) (Wortman, 1903) Incertae sedis: Genus: †Arcticanodon (Rose, 2004) Genus: †Melaniella (Fox, 1984)

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic relationships of clade Pholidotamorpha are shown in the following cladogram:

Ferae	Pan-Carnivora  Pholidotamorpha   Pholidota  Eupholidota †Eurotamanduidae  ?  †Pholidota sp. (BC 16’08) †Euromanis  sensu stricto   †Palaeanodonta  †Escavadodontidae  ?  †Melaniella †Amelotabes †Epoicotheriidae †Epoicotherium †Molaetherium †Xenocranium †Epoicotheriinae †Tetrapassalus †Dipassalus †Alocodontulum †Auroratherium †Pentapassalus †Tubulodon  ?  †Arcticanodon †Propalaeanodontinae †Mylanodon †Brachianodon †Palaeanodon †Metacheiromyinae  †Metacheiromys †Ernanodontidae  (Pholidota sensu lato)	†Epoicotherium/Xenocranium clade †Metacheiromyidae

See also

• Mammal classification
• Ferae