Eulipotyphla (, which means "truly fat and blind") is an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

of mammals suggested by molecular methods of

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

reconstruction, which includes the laurasiatherian members of the now-invalid polyphyletic order Lipotyphla, but not the afrotherian members (tenrecs, golden moles, and otter shrews, now in their own order

Afrosoricida The order Afrosoricida (a Latin-Greek compound name which means "looking like African shrews") contains the golden moles of Southern Africa, the otter shrews of equatorial Africa and the tenrecs of Madagascar. These three families of small mamma ...

). Eulipotyphla comprises the hedgehogs and

gymnure Gymnures, also called hairy hedgehogs or moonrats, are mammals belonging to the subfamily Galericinae, in the family Erinaceidae and the order Eulipotyphla. Gymnures resemble rats but are not closely related as they are not rodents; they are ...

s (family

Erinaceidae Erinaceidae is a family in the order Eulipotyphla, consisting of the hedgehogs and moonrats. Until recently, it was assigned to the order Erinaceomorpha, which has been subsumed with the paraphyletic Soricomorpha into Eulipotyphla. Eulipotyphla ...

, formerly also the order

Erinaceomorpha Erinaceidae is a family in the order Eulipotyphla, consisting of the hedgehogs and moonrats. Until recently, it was assigned to the order Erinaceomorpha, which has been subsumed with the paraphyletic Soricomorpha into Eulipotyphla. Eulipotyphla ...

), solenodons (family Solenodontidae), the

desman The desman, a snouted and naked-tailed diving insectivore of the tribe Desmanini (also considered a subfamily, Desmaninae), belongs to one of two Eurasian species of the mole family, Talpidae. This tribe consists of two monotypic genera of semi ...

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...

s, and shrew-like moles (family Talpidae) and true

shrew Shrews (family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to different fa ...

s (family Soricidae). True shrews, talpids and solenodons were formerly grouped in

Soricomorpha Soricomorpha (from Greek "shrew-form") is a formerly used taxon within the class of mammals. In the past it formed a significant group within the former order Insectivora. However, Insectivora was shown to be polyphyletic and various new orders w ...

; however, Soricomorpha has been found to be

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

, since erinaceids are the

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

of shrews, and they are more closely linked to the

Carnivora Carnivora is a Clade, monophyletic order of Placentalia, placental mammals consisting of the most recent common ancestor of all felidae, cat-like and canidae, dog-like animals, and all descendants of that ancestor. Members of this group are f ...

order; (such as cats,

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginge ...

s, badgers, etc.). It is the sister clade of

Scrotifera Scrotifera ("beasts with scrotum") is a clade of Placentalia, placental mammals that groups together grandorder Ferungulata, clade Bat, Apo-Chiroptera (aka Order (biology), order Bat, Chiroptera), other extinct members and their common ancestors ...

; together, they make up Laurasiatheria.

Classification

* Order Eulipotyphla (= 'Lipotyphla' - Afrosoricida = 'Erinaceomorpha' + 'Soricomorpha') ** Family

*** Subfamily Erinaceinae: hedgehogs *** Subfamily Galericinae: gymnures or moonrats ** Family Soricidae *** Subfamily Crocidurinae: white-toothed shrews *** Subfamily Soricinae: red-toothed shrews *** Subfamily Myosoricinae: African white-toothed shrews ** Family Talpidae *** Subfamily Talpinae: Old World moles and desmans *** Subfamily Scalopinae: New World moles *** Subfamily Uropsilinae: shrew-like moles ** Family Solenodontidae: solenodons **† Family Nesophontidae: extinct West Indian shrews **† Family

Amphilemuridae The Amphilemuridae are a family of extinct mammals belonging to the order Eulipotyphla, from the Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleog ...

**† Family Nyctitheriidae **† Family Plesiosoricidae Family-level cladogram of modern eulipotyphlan relationships, following Roca et al. and Brace et al.: The upper and lower

basal Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''. Science * Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure * Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...

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. 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 around 69 Ma and 64 Ma ago, respectively.

Notes

References

Mammal orders Extant Paleocene first appearances {{Mammal-stub