Afrosoricida

order of mammals

Afrosoricida is an order of mammals, which includes the Tenrecs and the Golden mole.[1] Tenrecs look like hedgehogs in appearance. Golden moles look like moles. Sequence analysis found that these animals are not closely related to other insectivores.

Afrosoricida[1]
Temporal range: Early Miocene–Recent
Tailless tenrec (Tenrec ecaudatus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Superorder: Afrotheria
Order: Afrosoricida
Stanhope et al., 1998
Suborders

 Chrysochloridea
 Tenrecomorpha

Some biologists use Tenrecomorpha as the name for the tenrec-golden mole clade, but Gary Bronner and Paulina Jenkins argue that Afrosoricida is more appropriate, despite their misgivings about the similarity between the name "Afrosoricida" and the unrelated shrew subgenus Afrosorex.[1]

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bronner G.N. & Jenkins P.D. (2005), "Order Afrosoricida", in D.E. Wilson & D.M. Reeder (ed.), Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.), Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 71–81, ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0, OCLC 62265494