Pholidotamorpha

Pholidotamorpha ("pangolin-like forms") is a clade of placental mammals from mirorder Ferae that includes the order Pholidota (the pangolins) and extinct order Palaeanodonta.

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

Classification and phylogeny

History of taxonomy

Both the Pholidota and Palaeanodonta orders were formerly classified with various other orders of ant-eating mammals, most notably Xenarthra (armadillos, sloths and true anteaters) which they superficially resemble. Some past palaeontologists placed pangolins and palaeanodonts as a suborder "Pholidota" in order Cimolesta, alongside the extinct family Ernanodontidae as a separate suborder Ernanodonta near it, but this idea fell out of favor when it was determined that cimolestids were not placental mammals.

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