Eulipotyphla Explained

Eulipotyphla (from eu- + Lipotyphla; sometimes called true insectivores[1]) is an order of mammals comprising the Erinaceidae (hedgehogs and gymnures); Solenodonstidae (solenodons); Talpidae (moles, shrew-like moles and desmans); and Soricidae (true shrews) families.

Taxonomic history

Historically, these animals were grouped with others such as treeshrews, elephant shrews, and colugos, under the broader category Insectivora, comprising all small insect-eating placental mammals. Wilhelm Peters identified two sub-groups of Insectivora, distinguished by the presence or absence of a cecum in the large intestine.[2] In his 1866 Generelle morphologie der organismen, Ernest Haeckel named these groups Menotyphla and Lipotyphla, respectively from μένω ("remain")/λείπω ("lack" or "leave behind") + τυφλὸν literally "blind", as in τυφλὸν ἔντερον ("blind intestine", from which the Latin intestinum caecum derives as a calque).[3] [4]

Since the late 1990s, molecular studies have produced evidence that the Lipotyphla are not a monophyletic group. This led to tenrecs, otter shrews, and golden moles being placed a new order (Afrosoricida, in the superorder Afrotheria), with the remaining members of Lipotyphla being reclassified as Eulipotyphla.[5] [6]

A 2023 study suggested that the order began to diversify prior to the K-Pg extinction, based on molecular clock estimates.[7]

Classification

Family-level cladogram of modern eulipotyphlan relationships, following Roca et al. and Brace et al.:[5]

The upper and lower basal subclades within the tree are the suborders Solenodonota and Erinaceota, respectively. These two branches are estimated to have split ~72–74 million years (Ma) ago.[11] The Nesophontidae and Solenodontidae are thought to have separated roughly 57 Ma ago. Split times for talpids vs. soricids plus erinaceids, and for soricids vs. erinaceids, have been estimated at 69 Ma and 64 Ma ago, respectively.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Buckley . Michael . Harvey . Virginia L . Orihuela . Johanset . Mychajliw . Alexis M . Keating . Joseph N . Milan . Juan N Almonte . Lawless . Craig . Chamberlain . Andrew T . Egerton . Victoria M . Manning . Phillip L . 2020-06-04 . Collagen Sequence Analysis Reveals Evolutionary History of Extinct West Indies Nesophontes (Island-Shrews) . Molecular Biology and Evolution . 37 . 10 . 2931–2943 . 10.1093/molbev/msaa137 . 0737-4038. 7530613 .
  2. Douady . C. J. . Chatelier . P. I. . Madsen . O. . de Jong . W. W. . Catzeflis . F. . Springer . M. S. . Stanhope . M. J. . October 2002 . Molecular phylogenetic evidence confirming the Eulipotyphla concept and in support of hedgehogs as the sister group to shrews . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 25 . 1 . 200–209 . 10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00232-4 . 12383761.
  3. Book: Ohl, Michael . The art of naming . 2018 . The MIT Press . 978-0-262-03776-1 . Cambridge, Massachusetts London . 7-9 . Lauffer . Elisabeth.
  4. Web site: caecum Etymology of caecum by etymonline . 2024-10-23 . www.etymonline.com . en.
  5. Roca . A. L. . Bar-Gal . G. K. . Eizirik . E. . Helgen . K. M. . Maria . R. . Springer . M. S. . O'Brien . S. J. . Murphy . W. J. . 2004-06-10 . Mesozoic origin for West Indian insectivores . Nature . 429 . 6992 . 649–651 . 2004Natur.429..649R . 10.1038/nature02597 . 15190349 . 915633.
  6. Bininda-Emonds . O. R. P. . Cardillo . M. . Jones . K. E. . MacPhee . R. D. E. . Beck . R. M. D. . Grenyer . R. . Price . S. A. . Vos . R. A. . Gittleman . J. L. . Purvis . A. . 2007-03-29 . The delayed rise of present-day mammals . Nature . 446 . 7135 . 507–512 . 2007Natur.446..507B . 10.1038/nature05634 . 17392779 . 4314965.
  7. Foley . Nicole M. . Mason . Victor C. . Harris . Andrew J. . Bredemeyer . Kevin R. . Damas . Joana . Lewin . Harris A. . Eizirik . Eduardo . Gatesy . John . Karlsson . Elinor K. . Lindblad-Toh . Kerstin . Zoonomia Consortium‡ . Springer . Mark S. . Murphy . William J. . Andrews . Gregory . Armstrong . Joel C. . 2023-04-28 . A genomic timescale for placental mammal evolution . Science . en . 380 . 6643 . eabl8189 . 10.1126/science.abl8189 . 0036-8075 . 10233747 . 37104581.
  8. Kim. N.H.. Lim. S.J.. Chae. H.M.. Park. Y.C.. Complete mitochondrial genome of the Amur hedgehog Erinaceus amurensis (Erinaceidae) and higher phylogeny of the family Erinaceidae . Genetics and Molecular Research . 16. 1. 2017. 10.4238/gmr16019300. 28198504. free.
  9. Dubey. S.. Salamin. N.. Ohdachi. S.D.. Barrière. P.. Vogel. P.. Molecular phylogenetics of shrews (Mammalia: Soricidae) reveal timing of transcontinental colonizations . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 44. 1. 2007. 126–137. 10.1016/j.ympev.2006.12.002. 17267241. 3136125 .
  10. He. K.. Shinohara. A.. Helgen. K.M.. Springer. M.S.. Jiang. X.-L.. Campbell. K.L.. Talpid Mole Phylogeny Unites Shrew Moles and Illuminates Overlooked Cryptic Species Diversity . Molecular Biology and Evolution . 34. 1. 2017. 78–87. 10.1093/molbev/msw221. 27795230. free.
  11. Brace. S.. Thomas. J. A.. Dalén. L.. Burger. J.. MacPhee. R. D. E.. Barnes. I.. Turvey. S. T.. Evolutionary History of the Nesophontidae, the Last Unplaced Recent Mammal Family. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 33. 12. 2016. 3095–3103. 10.1093/molbev/msw186. 27624716. free.
  12. Springer. M. S.. Murphy. W. J.. Roca. A. L.. Appropriate fossil calibrations and tree constraints uphold the Mesozoic divergence of solenodons from other extant mammals. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 121. 2018. 158–165. 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.01.007. 29331683.

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