Tethytheria
Tethytheria is a clade of mammals that includes the sirenians and proboscideans, as well as the extinct order Embrithopoda.
Though there is strong anatomical and molecular support for the monophyly of Tethytheria, the interrelationships between the included taxa remain disputed. The tethytheres are united by several characters, including anteriorly facing orbits and more or less bilophodont cheek teeth. Proboscidea and Sirenia are linked together based on auditory characters in their petrosal bones, but this link may be a homoplasy. Desmostylians, traditionally considered tethytheres, have been tentatively assigned to Perissodactyla, along with the Early Eocene family Anthracobunidae, which was considered a sister group to Tethytheria.
Tethytheria is thought to have evolved from primitive hoofed mammals along the shores of the ancient Tethys Ocean.Systematics
modified from and.Classification modified from.
- Suborder Tethytheria
- * Infraorder †Embrithopoda
- ** †Phenacolophidae
- ** †Arsinoitheriidae
- * Infraorder Sirenia
- ** †Prorastomidae
- ** †Protosirenidae
- ** Dugongidae
- ** Trichechidae
- * Infraorder Proboscidea
- ** †Phosphatheriidae
- ** †Numidotheriidae
- ** †Moeritheriidae
- ** †Barytheriidae
- ** †Deinotheriidae
- ** †Palaeomastodontidae
- ** †Phiomiidae
- ** †Hemimastodontidae
- ** †Mammutidae
- ** †Gomphotheriidae
- ** Elephantidae
