Eulipotyphla

Reconstruction of Nesophontes, copyright Michael R. Long.

Belongs within: Pan-Lipotyphla.
Contains: Talpidae, Erinaceomorpha, Soricidae.

The Eulipotyphla, or 'insectivores', are a group of small mammals including shrews (Soricidae), hedgehogs (Erinaceidae), moles (Talpidae) and others. They are supported as a clade by molecular analyses, albeit one that excludes the African families Tenrecidae (tenrecs) and Chrysochloridae (golden moles) previously regarded as close relatives; these latter groups are instead allied to other Africa-derived mammals in a group called the Afrotheria. A number of fossil taxa previously regarded as related to this group are of uncertain placement as a result of this divide. Future analyses may identify them as true eulipotyphlans, as afrotherians, or as independent extinct groups.

Among the more divergent recent eulipotyphlans are the Solenodontidae (solenodons), moderately large (about a foot long excluding the tail) insectivores found only on the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. Until recently, the Caribbean islands were also home to the now-extinct species of Nesophontes which were smaller than modern solenodons and possibly more superficially shrew-like. The Parapternodontidae from the early Eocene of Wyoming may represent continental relatives of solenodons (Halliday et al. 2017) but were placed closer to Soricidae by Asher et al. (2002).

Characters (from Butler 1988): Mobile snout, with enlarged olfactory organs, enlarged infraorbital canal, and reduced eyes. Palatine displaced from lacrimal by maxillar wing and confined to orbital floor; jugal reduced or absent, lower border of orbit formed from maxilla. Pubic symphysis reduced or lost. Caecum lost.

Eulipotyphla [Centetoidea, Dormaalioidea, Erinaceota, Lipotyphla, Soricoidea, Soricomorpha] HUG17
    |--+--+--+--Talpidae HUG17
    |  |  |  |--Proscalopidae [Arctoryctinae, Proscalopinae] B88
    |  |  |  |    |--Cryptoryctes Reed 1954 V67
    |  |  |  |    |--Oligoscalops Reed 1961 V67
    |  |  |  |    |--Proscalops Matthew 1901 [incl. Arctoryctes Matthew 1907] V67
    |  |  |  |    `--Mesoscalops Reed 1960 V67
    |  |  |  `--Dimylidae B88
    |  |  |       |--Dimylinae V67
    |  |  |       |    |--Dimylus von Meyer 1846 V67
    |  |  |       |    |    `--D. paradoxus D07
    |  |  |       |    |--Exodaenodus Hürzeler 1944 V67
    |  |  |       |    |--Dimyloides Hürzeler 1944 V67
    |  |  |       |    |--Cordylodon von Meyer 1859 V67
    |  |  |       |    |--Pseudocordylodon Hürzeler 1944 V67
    |  |  |       |    `--Metacordylodon Schlosser 1911 V67
    |  |  |       `--Plesiodimylus Gaillard 1897 [Pseudodimylinae] V67
    |  |  `--+--Wyonycteris HUG17
    |  |     |    |--W. chalix HUG17
    |  |     |    `--W. primitivus HUG17
    |  |     `--+--Erinaceomorpha HUG17
    |  |        `--Litocherinae B88
    |  |             |  i. s.: Cedrocherus B88
    |  |             |--Litocherus HUG17
    |  |             |    |--L. lacunatus HUG17
    |  |             |    |--L. notissimus HUG17
    |  |             |    `--L. zygeus HUG17
    |  |             `--+--Litolestes Jepsen 1930 B88, M60
    |  |                |    |--L. ignotus B88
    |  |                |    `--L. notissimus Simpson 1936 M60
    |  |                `--Eolestes B88
    |  `--Soricidae HUG17
    `--+--Solenodontidae [Solenodontinae, Solenodontini] AM02
       |    |--Clinopternodus Clark 1937 [=Clinodon Scott & Jepsen 1936 non Regan 1920] AM02
       |    `--Solenodon Brandt 1833 FS15, M58 [incl. Antillogale Patterson 1962 V67, Atopogale Cabrera 1925 M58]
       |         |  i. s.: S. arredondoi Morgan & Ottenwalder 1993 AC98
       |         |--*S. paradoxus Brandt 1833 M58, FS15, M58 [=Sorex (Solenodon) paradoxus M58]
       |         `--+--S. cubanus Peters 1864 FS15, M58 [=*Atopogale cubana M58; incl. S. poeyanus Barbour 1944 V67]
       |            `--S. marcanoi FS15
       |--Nesophontes Anthony 1916 FS15, M58 [Nesophontidae, Nesophontoidea]
       |    |--*N. edithae Anthony 1916 M58
       |    |--N. hypomicrus Miller 1929 M58
       |    |--N. longirostris Anthony 1919 M58
       |    |--N. major FS15
       |    |--N. micrus Allen 1917 M58
       |    |--N. paramicrus Miller 1929 M58
       |    |--N. submicrus AC98
       |    `--N. zamicrus Miller 1929 M58
       `--Parapternodontidae AM02
            |--Parapternodus Brown & Schankler 1982 HUG17, AM02
            |    `--*P. antiquus Brown & Schankler 1982 AM02
            `--Koniaryctes Robinson & Kron 1998 AM02
                 `--*K. paulus Robinson & Kron 1998 AM02

Eulipotyphla incertae sedis:
  Iconapternodus Tong 1997 AM02
    `--I. qii Tong 1997 AM02
  Ceciliolemur Weigelt 1933 [incl. Microtarsioides Weigelt 1933] S62
  Pontifactor B88
  Deinogalerix Fruedenthal 1973 D07
    `--D. koeingswaldi D07
  Oligoryctes Hough 1956 [Oligoryctidae] AM02
    |--*O. cameronensis Hough 1956 AM02
    `--O. altitalonidus (Clark 1937) [=Apternodus altitalonidus] AM02
  Plesiosoricidae B88
    |--Butselia Quinet & Misonne 1965 B88, V67 [Butselidae]
    |--Pakilestes B88
    |--Plesiosorex Pomel 1848 V67
    |    |--P. germanicus M60
    |    `--P. soricinoides M60
    |--Entomacodon Matthew 1909 V67
    `--Meterix Hall 1929 V67
         `--M. latidens M60

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[AC98] Alcover, J. A., X. Campillo, M. Macias & A. Sans. 1998. Mammal species of the world: additional data on insular mammals. American Museum Novitates 3248: 1–29.

[AM02] Asher, R. J., M. C. McKenna, R. J. Emry, A. R. Tabrum & D. G. Kron. 2002. Morphology and relationships of Apternodus and other extinct, zalambdodont, placental mammals. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 273: 1–117.

[B88] Butler, P. M. 1988. Phylogeny of the insectivores. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods vol. 2. Mammals pp. 117–141. Clarendon Press: Oxford.

[D07] Dixon, D. 2007. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. Hermes House: London.

[FS15] Faurby, S., & J.-C. Svenning. 2015. A species-level phylogeny of all extant and late Quaternary extinct mammals using a novel heuristic-hierarchical Bayesian approach. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 14–26.

[HUG17] Halliday, T. J. D., P. Upchurch & A. Goswami. 2017. Resolving the relationships of Paleocene placental mammals. Biological Reviews 92 (1): 521–550.

[M58] McDowell, S. B., Jr. 1958. The Greater Antillean insectivores. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 115 (3): 113–214.

[M60] McKenna, M. C. 1960. The Geolabidinae: a new subfamily of early Cenozoic erinaceoid insectivores. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 37 (2): 131–164.

[S62] Simons, E. L. 1962. A new Eocene primate genus, Cantius, and a revision of some allied European lemuroids. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History): Geology 7 (1): 1–36.

[V67] Van Valen, L. 1967. New Paleocene insectivores and insectivore classification. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 135 (5): 217–284.