Tethytheria Explained

Tethytheria is a clade of mammals that includes the sirenians and proboscideans, as well as the extinct order Embrithopoda.^[1]

Though there is strong anatomical and molecular support for the monophyly of Tethytheria, the interrelationships between the included taxa remain disputed. The tethytheres are united by several characters, including anteriorly facing orbits and more or less bilophodont cheek teeth (double transverse ridges on the crowns of the teeth). Proboscidea and Sirenia are linked together based on auditory characters in their petrosal bones, but this link may be a homoplasy. Desmostylians, traditionally considered tethytheres, have been tentatively assigned to Perissodactyla, along with the Early Eocene family Anthracobunidae, which was considered a sister group to Tethytheria.^[2]

Systematics

Cladogram modified from and .

Classification

Classification modified from .

• Clade Tethytheria
  • order †Embrithopoda
    • †Phenacolophidae
    • †Arsinoitheriidae
  • order Sirenia
    • †Prorastomidae
    • †Protosirenidae (Dugongidae?)
    • Dugongidae
    • Trichechidae
  • order Proboscidea
    • †Phosphatheriidae (Numidotheriidae?)
    • †Numidotheriidae
    • †Moeritheriidae
    • †Barytheriidae
    • †Deinotheriidae
    • †Palaeomastodontidae
    • †Phiomiidae
    • †Hemimastodontidae
    • †Mammutidae
    • †Gomphotheriidae
    • Elephantidae

References

• Book: McKenna, M.C. . Toward a phylogenetic classification of the Mammalia . Luckett . W.P. . Szalay . F.S. . Phylogeny of the primates: a multidisciplinary approach (Proceedings of WennerGren Symposium no. 61, Burg Wartenstein, Austria, July 6–14, 1974 . 1975 . 21–46 . New York . Plenum . 10.1007/978-1-4684-2166-8_2 . 978-1-4684-2168-2 .
• Book: Rose, Kenneth David . The beginning of the age of mammals . 2006 . JHU Press . Baltimore . 0801884721 .

Notes and References

1. . Retrieved April 2013.
2. Seiffert. E. R.. Clementz. M.. Madar. S. I.. Bajpai. S.. Hussain. S. T.. Thewissen. J. G. M.. 2014-10-08. Anthracobunids from the Middle Eocene of India and Pakistan Are Stem Perissodactyls. PLOS ONE. 9. 10. e109232. 2014PLoSO...9j9232C. 10.1371/journal.pone.0109232. 4189980. 25295875. Cooper. L. N.. free.