Scientific name Scrotifera | Phylum Chordata Clade Scrotifera Higher classification Laurasiatheria | |
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Lower classifications Carnivores, Pangolins, Bear, Felidae, Pinniped | ||
Scrotifera is a clade of placental mammals that is comprised the following orders and their common ancestors: Chiroptera, Carnivora, Pholidota, Perissodactyla and Cetartiodactyla, with the latter including the traditional orders Artiodactyla and Cetacea. Scrotifera is the sister group to the Eulipotyphla and together they make up the Laurasiatheria.
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Etymology
The name comes from the word scrotum, a pouch in which the testes permanently reside in the adult male. All members of the group have a postpenile scrotum, often prominently displayed, except for some aquatic forms and pangolin (which has the testes just below the skin). It appears to be an ancestral character for this group, yet other orders generally lack this as an ancestral feature, with the probable exception of Primates.
Phylogeny
The clade Scrotifera is based on evidence from molecular phylogenetics. The monophylogeny of the group is well supported, but there is some debate about the internal order, with Pegasoferae being an alternative to that shown in the following cladogram.