In-Depth Notes on Mammalian Taxonomy

Taxonomy of Mammals

Major Groups of Mammals
  • Mammals are divided into three primary groups:
    • Prototheria
    • Metatheria
    • Eutheria
Prototheria
  • Characteristics: Egg-laying mammals.
  • Extant Orders:
    • Ornithorhynchidae: Includes platypus.
    • Tachyglossidae: Includes echidnas (4 species, found in Australia and Indonesia).
Metatheria
  • Characteristics: Involves marsupials, which are characterized by:
    • Pouched young: Carry their young in pouches.
    • Differential dentition compared to placental mammals.
  • Superorders:
    1. Ameridelphia: Includes marsupials found mainly in the Americas.
    2. Australidelphia: Marsupials located primarily in Australia.
    • Key Families:
      • Diprotodontia: Most diverse group of marsupials.
      • Notoryctemorphia: Marsupial moles.
      • Peramelemorphia: Bandicoots and bilbies.
      • Dasyuromorpha: Marsupial mice, Tasmanian devil.
Eutheria
  • Characteristics: Includes most diverse group of mammals, both extinct and extant.
  • Major Groups:
    • Atlantogeneta: Contains organisms with a southern ancestry (includes Afrotheria and Xenarthra).
    • Boreoeutheria: Contains organisms with a northern ancestry (includes Euarchontoglires and Laurasiatheria).
Atlantogeneta
  • Distribution: Extends across Africa and South America.
  • Clades:
    • Afrotheria: Includes elephants, hyraxes, elephant shrews, and tenrecs.
    • Xenarthra: Covers organisms in Central and South America like armadillos, sloths, and anteaters.
Boreoeutheria
  • Key Clades:
    • Euarchontoglires: Contains rodents and lagomorphs (rabbits, hares).
    • Laurasiatheria: Includes carnivores, ungulates, bats, and other terrestrial mammals.
Glires
  • Composition: Comprised of rodents and lagomorphs.
    • Rodentia: Most diverse order with over 1440 species.
    • Lagomorpha: Includes rabbits and hares.
Euarchonta
  • Diversity: Includes tree shrews, flying lemurs, and primates.
  • Distribution: Tree shrews and flying lemurs primarily found in tropical Asia.
Laurasiatheria
  • Components: Contains large divisions including Eulipotyphla (shrews) and Chiroptera (bats).
Carnivora
  • Suborders:
    1. Caniformia: Dog-like carnivores (includes canines, bears, seals).
    2. Feliformia: Cat-like carnivores (includes felines, mongooses).
Other Orders
  • Pholidota: Consists of pangolins; scaly mammals found in Asia and Africa.
Manitoba Diversity
  • Species Count: Manitoba is home to nearly 86 species of mammals.
  • Habitats: Spread across 25 different ecosystems; many play important ecological roles as keystone species.