Glires (, Latin ''glīrēs'' '

dormice A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hibe ...

') is a clade (sometimes ranked as a grandorder) consisting of rodents and lagomorphs ( rabbits, hares, and

pika A pika ( or ; archaically spelled pica) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal found in Asia and North America. With short limbs, very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but wi ...

s). The hypothesis that these form a monophyletic group has been long debated based on morphological evidence. Two morphological studies, published in 2001 and 2003, strongly support the monophyly of Glires. In particular, the 2003 study reported the discovery of

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

material of basal members of Glires, particularly the genera ''

Mimotona ''Mimotona'' is a genus of early insectivorous lagomorph that lived in late Paleocene of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by pop ...

'', ''

Gomphos ''Gomphos'' is an extinct genus of early lagomorph from the early Eocene of the People's Republic of China, China and Mongolia. Gomphos was first named in 1975 from material found in the Gashato Formation. There are currently two species in this ...

'', '' Heomys'', '' Matutinia'', '' Rhombomylus'', and '' Sinomylus''. Their description, in 2005, helped to bridge the gap between more typical rodents and lagomorphs. Data published in 2001, based on nuclear DNA, supported Glires as a sister of

Euarchonta The Euarchonta are a proposed grandorder of mammals: the order Scandentia (treeshrews), and its sister Primatomorpha mirorder, containing the Dermoptera or colugos and the primates (Plesiadapiformes and descendents). The term "Euarchonta" (mea ...

to form

Euarchontoglires Euarchontoglires (synonymous with Supraprimates) is a clade and a superorder of mammals, the living members of which belong to one of the five following groups: rodents, lagomorphs, treeshrews, colugos, and primates. Evolutionary affinities wi ...

, but some genetic data from both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA have been less supportive. A study, published in 2007, investigating

retrotransposon Retrotransposons (also called Class I transposable elements or transposons via RNA intermediates) are a type of genetic component that copy and paste themselves into different genomic locations (transposon) by converting RNA back into DNA through ...

presence/absence data unambiguously supports the Glires hypothesis. Studies published in 2011 and 2015 place Scandentia as a sister clade of the Glires, invalidating Euarchonta as a clade.

Citations

General and cited sources

* * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q660432 Euarchontoglires Extant Paleocene first appearances Mammal taxonomy