Pholidotamorpha ("pangolin-shaped") is a clade of mammals that includes the orders

Palaeanodonta Palaeanodonta ("ancient toothless animals") is an extinct clade of stem- pangolins. They were insectivorous, possibly fossorial, and lived from the Early Paleocene to Early Oligocene in North America, Europe and East Asia. While the taxonomic ...

and

Pholidota Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (, from Ancient Greek ϕολιδωτός – "clad in scales"). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: '' Manis'', ''Phataginus'', and ''Smutsia ...

(the pangolins). In the past both orders were formerly classified with various other orders of ant-eating mammals, most notably

Xenarthra Xenarthra (; from Ancient Greek ξένος, xénos, "foreign, alien" + ἄρθρον, árthron, "joint") is a major clade of placental mammals native to the Americas. There are 31 living species: the anteaters, tree sloths, and armadillos. Ex ...

, which includes the true

anteater Anteater is a common name for the four extant mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua (meaning "worm tongue") commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together with ...

sloth Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their li ...

s, and the

armadillo Armadillos (meaning "little armored ones" in Spanish) are New World placental mammals in the order Cingulata. The Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae are the only surviving families in the order, which is part of the superorder Xenarthra, along wi ...

s which pangolins superficially resemble. Newer genetic evidence, however, indicates their closest living relatives are 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 ...

with which they form the clade

Ferae Ferae ( , , "wild beasts") is a mirorder of placental mammalsMalcolm C. McKenna, Susan K. Bell: ''Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level'' in Columbia University Press, New York (1997), 631 Seiten. that groups together clades Pan-Ca ...

. Some

palaeontologists Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

, placing family

Ernanodontidae Ernanodontidae ("sprouts of toothless animals") is an extinct family of insectivorous stem-pangolins which were endemic to Asia from the middle Paleocene to the early Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about ...

in a separate suborder Ernanodonta of Cimolesta near

, have classified the pangolins in the order

Cimolesta Cimolesta is an extinct order of non-placental eutherian mammals. Cimolestans had a wide variety of body shapes, dentition and lifestyles, though the majority of them were small to medium-sized general mammals that bore superficial resemblances ...

, together with several extinct groups indicated (†) below, though this idea has fallen out of favor since it was determined that cimolestids were not placental mammals. A 2012 study from new remains found in Late Paleocene

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

n strata have led to the assessment that ''

Ernanodon ''Ernanodon antelios'' ("a growing sprouts of toothless animals") is an extinct placental mammal from the middle Paleocene Nongshan Formation of China. It was a relatively small animal about in length, not including the tail. When it was firs ...

'' is closely related to ''

Metacheiromys ''Metacheiromys'' ("next to ''Cheiromys''") is an extinct genus of palaeanodont mammal from the paraphyletic subfamily Metacheiromyinae within paraphyletic family Metacheiromyidae, that lived in North America (what is now Wyoming) during the ...

'' within the order

, which, in the study, was reaffirmed to be the sister taxon of Pholidota.

Classification and phylogeny

Classification

* ''Clade'': Pholidotamorpha ** Order:

(pangolins) *** Genus: †''

Euromanis ''Euromanis'' ("european pangolin") is one of the earliest known pangolin genera. It lived during the Eocene in Europe. ''Euromanis'' fossils found in the Messel Pit in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is ...

'' *** Family: † Eurotamanduidae *** Suborder:

Eupholidota Eupholidota ("true pangolins") is a suborder of pangolins that includes two superfamilies: extant Manoidea and extinct Eomanoidea. Taxonomy * Suborder: Eupholidota (true pangolins) ** Superfamily: Manoidea *** Family: Manidae (pangolins) *** ...

(true pangolins) ** Order: †

(stem-pangolins) *** Family: †

Epoicotheriidae Epoicotheriidae ("strange beasts") is an extinct family of insectivorous mammals which were endemic to North America from the early Eocene to the early Oligocene 55.8—30.9 Ma existing for approximately . Epoicotheriids were highly specialized ...

*** Family: †

*** Family: † Escavadodontidae *** Family: † Metacheiromyidae ^{(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 ...
family)} *** ''

Incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

'': **** Genus: †'' Amelotabes'' **** Genus: †'' Arcticanodon'' **** Genus: †'' Melaniella''

Phylogeny

The phylogenetic relationships of clade Pholidotamorpha are shown in the following cladogram:Prevosti, F. J., & Forasiepi, A. M. (2018)
"Introduction. Evolution of South American Mammalian Predators During the Cenozoic: Paleobiogeographic and Paleoenvironmental Contingencies"
/ref>

References

Paleocene first appearances {{paleo-mammal-stub