Laurasiatheria

Taxobox
name = Laurasiatheria
fossil_range = Late Cretaceous - Recent


image_caption = Giant golden-crowned flying fox ("Acerodon jubatus")
regnum = Animalia
classis = Mammalia
infraclassis = Eutheria
superordo = Laurasiatheria
superordo_authority = Gill, 1872
subdivision_ranks = Orders
subdivision =
*Erinaceomorpha
*Soricomorpha
*Chiroptera
*Cetartiodactyla
**Cetacea
**Artiodactyla
*Perissodactyla
*Ferae:
**Pholidota
**Carnivora

Laurasiatheria is a clade of rank cohort or super-order, within the Placentalia (living) or Eutheria (Placentals and their extinct ancestors) infraclass of mammals, based on DNA sequence analyses and Retrotransposon presence/absence data. The name comes from the theory that these mammals evolved on the supercontinent of Laurasia, after it split from Gondwana when Pangaea broke up. It is a sister group to Euarchontoglires (Supraprimates) and Afrotheria. It includes the following extant orders:

*Erinaceomorpha: hedgehogs and gymnures
*Soricomorpha: moles, shrews, solenodons (cosmopolitan)
*Cetartiodactyla: cosmopolitan; includes former orders Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates, including pigs, hippopotamus, camels, giraffe, deer, antelope, cattle, sheep, goats)
*Pegasoferae:
**Pholidota: pangolins or scaly anteaters (Africa, South Asia)
**Chiroptera: bats (cosmopolitan)
**Carnivora: carnivores (cosmopolitan)
**Perissodactyla: odd-toed ungulates

Within the Laurasiatheria, the Erinaceomorpha appears (surprisingly) to be the most divergent branch. Some studies link the Perissodactyla and Ferae in a clade Zooamata; others link Perissodactyla and Cetartiodactyla in a clade of true ungulates. Neither clade is well supported.

Laurasiatheria is also posited to include several extinct orders and superorders:

* Meridiungulata
* Condylarthra
* Dinocerata
* Mesonychia
* Cimolesta
* Creodonta

References

*William J. Murphy, Eduardo Eizirik, Mark S. Springer et al., "Resolution of the Early Placental Mammal Radiation Using Bayesian Phylogenetics",Science, Vol 294, Issue 5550, 2348-2351, 14 December 2001.
*Jan Ole Kriegs, Gennady Churakov, Martin Kiefmann, Ursula Jordan, Juergen Brosius, Juergen Schmitz. (2006) Retroposed Elements as Archives for the Evolutionary History of Placental Mammals. PLoS Biol 4(4): e91. [http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0040091] ( [http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-pdf&file=10.1371_journal.pbio.0040091-S.pdf pdf version] )
* Kitazoe Y, Kishino H, Waddell PJ, Nakajima N, Okabayashi T, et al (2007) "Robust Time Estimation Reconciles Views of the Antiquity of Placental Mammals." [http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0000384 PLoS ONE 2(4): e384. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000384]