Kingdom Animalia Grandorder Euarchonta Scientific name Primatomorpha Rank Superorder | Phylum Chordata Mirorder Primatomorpha Higher classification Euarchonta | |
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Lower classifications Primate, Simian, Ape, Lemur, Gorilla | ||
Look what happens when the sun comes out
The Primatomorpha are a mirorder of mammals containing two orders: the Dermoptera or colugos and the Primates (Plesiadapiformes, Tarsiiformes, Simiiformes).
The term "Primatomorpha" first appeared in the general scientific literature in 1991 (K.C. Beard) and 1992 (Kalandadze, Rautian). Major DNA sequence analyses of predominantly nuclear sequences (Murphy et al., 2001) support the Euarchonta hypothesis, while a major study investigating mitochondrial sequences supports a different tree topology (Arnason et al., 2002). A study investigating retrotransposon presence/absence data has claimed strong support for Euarchonta (Kriegs et al., 2007). Some interpretations of the molecular data link Primates and Dermoptera in a clade (mirorder) known as Primatomorpha, which is the sister of Scandentia. Primates probably split from the Dermoptera sister group 79.6 million years ago during the Cretaceous.
Other interpretations link the Dermoptera and Scandentia together in a group called Sundatheria as the sister group of the primates. Recent studies place Scandentia as sister of the Glires, invalidating Euarchonta.