Paenungulatomorpha is a
clade of
afrotherianmammals that can be characterized according to Gheerbrant et al. (2016)[1]:
by a mandibular retromolar fossa, the absence of hypocone, an ectoloph selenodont and linked to strong styles such as mesostyle in basal taxa, and a more or less developed pseudohypocone.
Originally it was thought
paenungulates were closely related to the
perissodactyls in the clade
Altungulata due to shared attributes in the dental, osteological and soft-tissues.[2][3][4] However this view was contested as molecular studies have widely supported that paenungulates are not related to the perissodactyls, instead more related to a widely different clade
Afroinsectiphilia, with them forming the clade
Afrotheria.[5][6][7][8][9] There has been also some morphological data to support Afrotheria,[10][11][12] though the paleontological record to support was lacking until reexamination of the genera Ocepeia[13] and Abdounodus,[1] as well as the description of the basal Hadrogeneios in 2023[14] has shown not only fossil evidence for the inclusion of paenungulates as afrotherians but also any morphological similarities between paenungulates and perissodactyls is due to convergence.[1]
^Fischer, Martin S. (1986). "Die Stellung der Schliefer (Hyracoidea) im phylogenetischen System der Eutheria". Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg. 84: 1–132.
ISBN9783924500214.
OCLC15682192.
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