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Please note that this tree has not been updated since 1995. We hope to provide an up to date discussion of eutherian relationships on this page soon. For the time being, please refer to the papers cited in the References section.

Containing group: Mammalia

References

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Gatesy, J. 1997. More DNA support for a Cetacea/Hippopotamidae clade: the blood-clotting protein gene gamma-fibrinogen. Molecular Biology and Evolution 14:537-543.

Gatesy, J., M. Milinkovitch, V. Waddell, and M. Stanhope. 1999. Stability of cladistic relationships between Cetacea and higher-level Artiodactyl taxa. Systematic Biology 48:6-20.

Gatesy, J., P. O'Grady, and R. H. Baker. 1999. Corroboration among data sets in simultaneous analysis: Hidden support for phylogenetic relationships among higher level artiodactyl taxa. Cladistics 15:271-313.

Gatesy, J. and M. A. O'Leary. 2001. Deciphering whale origins with molecules and fossils. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16:562-570.

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Hauf, J., P. J. Waddell, N. Chalwatzis, U. Joger, and F. K. Zimmermann. 1999. The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), phylogenetic relationships of Proboscidea to other mammals, and D-loop heteroplasmy. Zoology - Analysis of Complex Systems 102:184-195.

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Huchon D., O. Madsen, M.J.J.B. Sibbald, K. Ament, M. J. Stanhope, F. Catzeflis, W. W. De Jong, and E. J. P. Douzery. 2002. Rodent phylogeny and a timescale for the evolution of glires: Evidence from an extensive taxon sampling using three nuclear genes. Molecular Biology and Evolution 19(7):1053-1065.

Hudelot, C., V. Gowri-Shankar, H. Jow, M. Rattray, and P. G. Higgs. 2003. RNA-based phylogenetic methods: application to mammalian mitochondrial RNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 28:241-252.

Irwin, D. M. and U. Arnason. 1994. Cytochrome b gene of marine mammals: phylogeny and evolution. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 2:37-55.

Ji, Q., Z.-X. Luo, C.-X. Yuan, J. R. Wible, J.-P. Zhang, and J. A. Georgi. 2002. The earliest known eutherian mammal. Nature 416:816-822.

Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. Academic Press, London.

Kleineidam, R. G., G. Pesole, H. J. Breukelman, J. J. Beintema, R. A. Kastelein. 1999. Inclusion of cetaceans within the order Artiodactyla based on phylogenetic analysis of pancreatic ribonuclease genes. Journal of Molecular Evolution 48:360-368.

Kupfermann, H., Y. Satta, N. Takahata, H. Tich, and J. Klein. 1999. Evolution of Mhc-DRB introns: Implications for the origin of primates. Journal of Molecular Evolution 48:663-674.

Lavergne, A., E. Douzery, T. Stichler, F. M. Catzeflis, and M. S. Springer. 1996. Interordinal mammalian relationships: Evidence for paenungulate monophyly is provided by complete mitochondrial 125 rRNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 6:245-258.

Li, W., M. Gouy, P. M. Sharp, C. O'HUigin, and Y. Yang. 1990. Molecular Phylogeny of Rodentia, Lagomorpha, Primates, Artiodactyla, and Carnivora and Molecular Clocks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 87:6703-6707.

Liu, F. G. R. and M. M. Miyamoto. 1999. Phylogenetic assessment of molecular and morphological data for eutherian mammals. Systematic Biology 48:54-64.

Liu, F. G. R., M. M. Miyamoto, N. P. Freire, P. Q. Ong, M. R. Tennant, T. S. Young, and K. F. Gugel. 2001. Molecular and morphological supertrees for eutherian (placental) mammals. Science 291:1786-1789.

Luckett, W. P. and J.-L. Hartenberger. 1993. Monophyly or polyphyly of the order Rodentia: possible conflict between morphological and molecular interpretations. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 1:127-147.

Luckett, W. P. and N. Hong. 1998. Phylogenetic relationships between the orders Artiodactyla and Cetacea: a combined assessment of morphological and molecular evidence. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 5:127-182.

Madsen, O., P. M. T. Deen, G. Pesole, C. Saccone, and W. W. deJong. 1997. Molecular evolution of mammalian aquaporin-2: Further evidence that elephant shrew and aardvark join the paenungulate clade. Molecular Biology and Evolution 14:363-371.

Madsen, O., M. Scally, C. J, Douady, D. J. Kao, R. W. Debry, R. Adkins, H. M. Ambrine, M. J. Stanhope, W. W. DeJong, and M. S. Springer. 2001. Parallel adaptive radiations in two major clades of placental mammals. Nature 409 :610-614.

McNiff, B.E. and M. W. Allard. 1998. A test of Archonta monophyly and the phylogenetic utility of the mitochondrial gene 12S rRNA. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 107:225-241.

Milinkovitch, M. C. and J. G. M. Thewissen. 1997. Even-toed fingerprints on whale ancestry. Nature 388:622-624.

Misawa, K. and A. Janke. 2003. Revisiting the Glires concept––phylogenetic analysis of nuclear sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 28(2):320-327.

Miyamoto, M. M. 1996. A congruence study of molecular and morphological data for Eutherian mammals. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 6:373-390.

Montgelard, C., F. M. Catzeflis, and E. Douzery. 1997. Phylogenetic relationships of artiodactyls and cetaceans as deduced from the comparison of cytochrome b and 12S rRNA mitochondrial sequences. Molecular Biology and Evolution 14:550-559.

Mouchaty, S. K., A. Gullberg, A. Janke, and U. Arnason. 2000. The phylogenetic position of the Talpidae within eutheria based on analysis of complete mitochondrial sequences. Molecular Biology and Evolution 17:60-67.

Murata, Y., M. Nikaido, T. Sasaki, Y. Cao, Y. Fukumoto, M. Hasegawa and N. Okada. 2003. Afrotherian phylogeny as inferred from complete mitochondrial genomes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 28(2):253-260.

Murphy, W. J., E. Eizirik, S. J. O'Brien, O. Madsen, M. Scally, C. J. Douady, E. Teeling, O. A. Ryder, M. J. Stanhope, W. W. de Jong, and M. S. Springer. 2001. Resolution of the early placental mammal radiation using Bayesian phylogenetics. Science 294:2348-2351.

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Nikaido, M., A. P. Rooney, and N. Okada. 1999. Phylogenetic relationships among cetartiodactyls based on insertions of short and long interspersed elements: hippopotamuses are the closest extant relatives of whales. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 96 :10261?10266.

Nishihara, H., Y. Satta, M. Nikaido, J. G. M. Thewissen, M. J. Stanhope, and N. Okada. 2005. A retroposon analysis of afrotherian phylogeny. Molecular Biology and Evolution 22(9):1823-1833.

Novacek, M. J. 1992. Fossils, topologies, missing data, and the higher level phylogeny of eutherian mammals. Systematic Biology 41:58-73.

Novacek, M. J. 1996. Where do rabbits and kin fit in? Nature 379:299-300.

Novacek, M. J., G. W. Rougier, J. R. Wible, M. C. McKenna, D. Dashzeveg, and I. Horovitz. 1997. Epipubic bones in eutherian mammals from the late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Nature 389:483-486.

O'Leary, M. A. and J. H. Geisler. 1999. The position of Cetacea within Mammalia: Phylogenetic analysis of morphological data from extinct and extant taxa. Systematic Biology 48:455-490.

O'Leary, M. A. 1999. Parsimony analysis of total evidence from extinct and extant taxa and the cetacean-artiodactyl question (Mammalia, Ungulata). Cladistics 15:315-330.

O'Leary M. A. 2001. The phylogenetic position of cetaceans: Further combined data analyses, comparisons with the stratigraphic record and a discussion of character optimization. American Zoologist 41: 487-506.

Onuma, M., T. Kusakabe, and S. Kusakabe. 1998. Phylogenetic positions of Insectivora in Eutheria inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit II gene. Zoological Science 15:139-145.

Ozawa, T., S. Hayashi, and V. M. Mikhelson. 1997. Phylogenetic position of Mammoth and Steller's sea cow within Tethytheria demonstrated by mitochondrial DNA sequences. Journal of Molecular Evolution 44:406-413.

Philippe, H. 1997. Rodent monophyly: Pitfalls of molecular phylogenies. Journal of Molecular Evolution 45:712-715.

Philippe, H. and E. Douzery. 1994. The pitfalls of molecular phylogeny based on four species, as illustrated by the Cetacea/Artiodactyla relationships. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 2:133-152.

Porter, C. A., M. Goodman, M. J. Stanhope. 1996. Evidence on mammalian phylogeny from sequences of exon 28 of the von Willebrand factor gene. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 5:89-101.

Prothero, D.R and R.M. Schoch. 1993. Horns, Tusks, Hooves, and Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals and Their Relatives. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.

Pumo, D. E., P. S. Finamore, W. R. Franek, C. J. Phillips, S. Tarzami, and D. Balzarano. 1998. Complete mitochondrial genome of a neotropical fruit bat, Artibeus jamaicensis, and a new hypothesis of the relationships of bats to other eutherian mammals. Journal of Molecular Evolution 47:709-717.

Reynolds, J. E. and S. A. Rommel. 1999. Biology of Marine Mammals. Smithsonian Institution Press, Wahington, D.C.

Reyes, A., C. Gissi, G. Pesole, F. M. Catzeflis, and C. Saccone. 2000. Where do rodents fit? Evidence from the complete mitochondrial genome of Sciurus vulgaris. Molecular Biology and Evolution 17:979-983.

Reyes, A., G. Pesole, and C. Saccone. 1998. Complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the fat dormouse, Glis glis: Further evidence of rodent paraphyly. Molecular Biology and Evolution 15:499-505.

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Springer, M. S. , G. C. Cleven, O. Madsen, W. W. deJong, V. G. Waddell, H. M. Amrine, and M. J. Stanhope. 1997. Endemic African mammals shake the phylogenetic tree. Nature 388:61-64.

Springer, M. S. and W. W. deJong. 2001. Which mammalian supertree to bark up? Science 291:1709-1711.

Stanhope, M.J., O. Madsen, V. G. Waddell, G. C. Cleven, W. W. de Jong, and M. S. Springer. 1998. Highly congruent molecular support for a diverse superordinal clade of endemic African mammals. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 9:501-508.

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Thewissen, J.G.M. and S.I. Madar. 1999. Ankle morphology of the earliest Cetaceans and its implications for the phylogenetic relations among Ungulates. Systematic Biology 48:21-30.

van Dijk, M. A. M., E. Paradis, F. Catzeflis, and W. W. De Jong. 1999. The virtues of gaps: Xenarthran (Edentate) monophyly supported by a unique deletion in alphaA-crystallin. Systematic Biology 48: 94-106.

van Dijk, M. A. M., O. Madsen, F. Catzeflis, M. J. Stanhope, W. W. de Jong, and M. Pagel. 2001. Protein sequence signatures support the African clade of mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 98:188-193.

Waddell, P.J., Y. Cao, J. Hauf, and M. Hasegawa. 1999. Using novel phylogenetic methods to evaluate mammalian mtDNA, including amino acid-invariant sites-LogDet plus site stripping, to detect internal conflicts in the data, with special reference to the positions of hedgehog, armadillo, and elephant. Systematic Biology 48:31-53.

Waddell, P.J., Y. Cao, M. Hasegawam and D. P. Mindell. 1999. Assessing the Cretaceous superordinal divergence times within birds and placental mammals by using whole mitochondrial protein sequences and an extended statistical framework. Systematic Biology 48:119-137.

Waddell, P.J., N. Okada, and M. Hasegawa. 1999. Towards resolving the interordinal relationships of placental mammals. Systematic Biology 48:1-5.

Waddell, P. J. and S. Shelley. 2003. Evaluating placental inter-ordinal phylogenies with novel sequences including RAG1, -fibrinogen, ND6, and mt-tRNA, plus MCMC-driven nucleotide, amino acid, and codon models. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 28(2):197-224.

Xu, X. F., A. Janke, and U. Arnason. 1996. The complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the greater Indian rhinoceros, Rhinoceros unicornis, and the phylogenetic relationship among Carnivora, Perissodactyla, and Artiodactyla (plus Cetacea). Molecular Biology and Evolution 13:1167-1173.

Information on the Internet

• African Mammals Databank. A GIS-based databank on the distribution and conservation of all the big and medium-sized mammals over the whole African continent.
• ZOO in the wild. A virtual zoo with information on African and European mammals.
• African Wildlife Foundation
• Mammals of Africa. NatureExplorer.com.
• Les grands Mammifères du Niokolo-Badiar. A guide to West-African mammals, en français.
• Aubrey Manning Gallery Collection of ungulates, rodents, carnivores and primates.
• The Ultimate Ungulate Page. Your Guide to the World's Hoofed Mammal Species.
• New Model May Resolve Paleontology Family Feud. Information about research on the origin of placental mammals. UniSci Science and Research News.

Fossil Eutheria:
• Cretaceous Critters. Two 80 million-year-old fossil mammals, including a new species, shed light on early reproduction. Information about Ukhaatherium nessovi and a zalambdalestid. American Museum of Natural History.
• Introduction to the Desmostylia. UCMP Berkeley.
• Introduction to the Embrithopoda. UCMP Berkeley.