Ornithorhynchoidea
| Ornithorhynchoids Temporal range:
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| Two extant ornithorhynchoids: the short-beaked echidna (above) and platypus (below) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Monotremata |
| Superfamily: | Ornithorhynchoidea Flannery et al., 2024 |
| Families | |
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| Range of extant ornithorhynchoids | |
Ornithorhynchoidea is a superfamily of egg-laying mammals containing the only living monotremes, the platypus and the echidnas, as well as their closest fossil relatives, to the exclusion of more primitive fossil monotremes of uncertain affinity.[1]
The clade was defined in 2024 following the discovery of some fossil monotremes from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)-aged Griman Creek Formation of Lightning Ridge Australia, which appeared to be more closely related to extant monotremes than to co-occurring early monotremes such as Steropodon and Kollikodon.[1][2]
Taxonomy
[edit]Opalios, the only described member of the extinct family Opalionidae, is considered the most basal ornithorhynchoid due to its unique combination of ancestral and derived traits.[1]
The presence of the probable stem-ornithorhynchids Dharragarra and Patagorhynchus in the Late Cretaceous implies that the divergence between the platypus and echidnas may have occurred during this time.[1] However, genetic estimates tend to prefer a Cenozoic divergence between these two extant groups.[3][4]
Although most members of this group—extinct and extant—are known from Australia, at least two ornithorhynchid-like forms reached southern South America during the Maastrichtian (Patagorhynchus) and early Paleocene (Monotrematum).[5][6]
The following genera are known:
- Superfamily Ornithorhynchoidea Flannery et al., 2024
- Family †Opalionidae Flannery et al., 2024
- Genus †Opalios Flannery et al., 2024
- Family Ornithorhynchidae Gray, 1825
- Genus ?†Dharragarra Flannery et al., 2024
- Genus ?†Monotrematum Pascual et al., 1992
- Genus †Obdurodon Woodburne & Tedford, 1975
- Genus ?†Patagorhynchus Chimento et al., 2023
- Genus Ornithorhynchus Blumenbach, 1800
- Family Tachyglossidae Gill, 1872
- Genus †Megalibgwilia Griffiths, Wells & Barrie, 1991
- Genus †Murrayglossus Flannery et al., 2022
- Genus Tachyglossus Illiger, 1811
- Genus Zaglossus Gill, 1877
- Family †Opalionidae Flannery et al., 2024
They can be distinguished from other fossil monotremes by their twisted-shaped dentaries, with the lingual surfaces being dorsoventrally flattened (aside from in echidnas).[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Flannery, Timothy F.; McCurry, Matthew R.; Rich, Thomas H.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Smith, Elizabeth T.; Helgen, Kristofer M. (2024-05-26). "A diverse assemblage of monotremes (Monotremata) from the Cenomanian Lightning Ridge fauna of New South Wales, Australia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 48 (2): 319–337. Bibcode:2024Alch...48..319F. doi:10.1080/03115518.2024.2348753. ISSN 0311-5518.
- ^ de Kruijff, Peter (2024-05-26). "'Echidnapus' fossil of potential echidna and platypus ancestor may point to Australian 'age of monotremes'". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2024-05-27. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
- ^ Phillips MJ, Bennett TH, Lee MS (October 2009). "Molecules, morphology, and ecology indicate a recent, amphibious ancestry for echidnas". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 106 (40): 17089–94. Bibcode:2009PNAS..10617089P. doi:10.1073/pnas.0904649106. PMC 2761324. PMID 19805098.
- ^ Zhou, Yang; Shearwin-Whyatt, Linda; Li, Jing; Song, Zhenzhen; Hayakawa, Takashi; Stevens, David; Fenelon, Jane C.; Peel, Emma; Cheng, Yuanyuan; Pajpach, Filip; Bradley, Natasha; Suzuki, Hikoyu; Nikaido, Masato; Damas, Joana; Daish, Tasman (2021-04-06). "Platypus and echidna genomes reveal mammalian biology and evolution". Nature. 592 (7856): 756–762. Bibcode:2021Natur.592..756Z. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03039-0. hdl:2440/130050. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 33408411.
- ^ Flannery, Timothy F.; Rich, Thomas H.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Ziegler, Tim; Veatch, E. Grace; Helgen, Kristofer M. (2022-01-02). "A review of monotreme (Monotremata) evolution". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 46 (1): 3–20. Bibcode:2022Alch...46....3F. doi:10.1080/03115518.2022.2025900. ISSN 0311-5518.
- ^ Chimento, Nicolás R.; Agnolín, Federico L.; Manabe, Makoto; Tsuihiji, Takanobu; Rich, Thomas H.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Novas, Fernando E. (2023-02-16). "First monotreme from the Late Cretaceous of South America". Communications Biology. 6 (1): 146. doi:10.1038/s42003-023-04498-7. ISSN 2399-3642. PMC 9935847. PMID 36797304.
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