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Eulipotyphla

Order of mammals From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eulipotyphla
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Eulipotyphla (/ˌjlɪpˈtɪflə/, from eu- + Lipotyphla, meaning truly lacking blind gut;[1] sometimes called true insectivores[2]) is an order of mammals comprising the Erinaceidae (hedgehogs and gymnures); Solenodontidae (solenodons); Talpidae (moles, shrew-like moles and desmans); and Soricidae (true shrews) families.

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Taxonomic history

Historically, these animals were grouped with others such as treeshrews, elephant shrews, and colugos, under the broader category Insectivora, comprising all small insect-eating placental mammals. Wilhelm Peters identified two sub-groups of Insectivora, distinguished by the presence or absence of a cecum in the large intestine.[3] In his 1866 Generelle morphologie der organismen, Ernst Haeckel named these groups Menotyphla and Lipotyphla,[3] respectively from μένω ("remain")/λείπω ("lack" or "leave behind") + τυφλὸν literally "blind", as in τυφλὸν ἔντερον ("blind intestine", from which the Latin intestinum caecum derives as a calque).[1][4]

Since the late 1990s, molecular studies have produced evidence that the Lipotyphla are not a monophyletic group. This led to tenrecs, otter shrews, and golden moles being placed a new order (Afrosoricida, in the superorder Afrotheria), with the remaining members of Lipotyphla being reclassified as Eulipotyphla.[3][5][6]

A 2023 study suggested that the order began to diversify prior to the K-Pg extinction, based on molecular clock estimates.[7]

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Classification

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European mole (Talpidae)
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European hedgehog (Erinaceidae)
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Common shrew (Soricidae)
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Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodontidae); solenodons are estimated to have diverged from other extant eulipotyphlans in the Late Cretaceous.[8][9]

Family-level cladogram of modern eulipotyphlan relationships, following Roca et al. and Brace et al.:[5][13]

Eulipotyphla

The upper and lower basal subclades within the tree are the suborders Solenodonota and Erinaceota, respectively.[13] These two branches are estimated to have split ~72–74 million years (Ma) ago.[13][8][9] The Nesophontidae and Solenodontidae are thought to have separated roughly 57 Ma ago.[13] Split times for talpids vs. soricids plus erinaceids, and for soricids vs. erinaceids, have been estimated at 69 Ma and 64 Ma ago, respectively.[14]

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Notes

References

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