Molecular phylogenetics and the origins of placental mammals

The precise hierarchy of ancient divergence events that led to the present assemblage of modern placental mammals has been an area of controversy among morphologists, palaeontologists and molecular evolutionists. Here we address the potential weaknesses of limited character and taxon sampling in a c...

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Published inNature (London) Vol. 409; no. 6820; pp. 614 - 618
Main Authors O'Brien, Stephen J, Murphy, William J, Eizirik, Eduardo, Johnson, Warren E, Zhang, Ya Ping, Ryder, Oliver A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing 01.02.2001
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects
Afrotheria
Animals
Armadillo
Biological and medical sciences
Carnivores
Cetacea
Evolution
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetics
Humans
Insectivores
Lemur
Mammalia
Mammals
Mammals - classification
Mammals - genetics
Marine
Molecular biology
Molecular Sequence Data
Phylogeny
Placenta
Taxa
Tupaia
Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution
Xenarthra
Molecular evolution
Adaptative radiation
Vertebrata
Mammalia
Placenta
Taxonomy
Chemotaxonomy
Phylogeny
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Summary:The precise hierarchy of ancient divergence events that led to the present assemblage of modern placental mammals has been an area of controversy among morphologists, palaeontologists and molecular evolutionists. Here we address the potential weaknesses of limited character and taxon sampling in a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of 64 species sampled across all extant orders of placental mammals. We examined sequence variation in 18 homologous gene segments (including nearly 10,000 base pairs) that were selected for maximal phylogenetic informativeness in resolving the hierarchy of early mammalian divergence. Phylogenetic analyses identify four primary superordinal clades: (I) Afrotheria (elephants, manatees, hyraxes, tenrecs, aardvark and elephant shrews); (II) Xenarthra (sloths, anteaters and armadillos); (III) Glires (rodents and lagomorphs), as a sister taxon to primates, flying lemurs and tree shrews; and (IV) the remaining orders of placental mammals (cetaceans, artiodactyls, perissodactyls, carnivores, pangolins, bats and core insectivores). Our results provide new insight into the pattern of the early placental mammal radiation.
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ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/35054550