Laurasiatheria is a clade of rank cohort or magnorder (although it is ranked super-order in traditional Linnaean taxonomy), within the Placentalia (living) or Eutheria (Placentals and their extinct ancestors) infraclass of mammals. The Laurasiatheria clade is based on DNA sequence analyses and Retrotransposon presence/absence data. The name comes from the theory that these mammals evolved on the supercontinent of Laurasia, after it split from Gon...
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Laurasiatheria is a clade of rank cohort or magnorder (although it is ranked super-order in traditional Linnaean taxonomy), within the Placentalia (living) or Eutheria (Placentals and their extinct ancestors) infraclass of mammals. The Laurasiatheria clade is based on DNA sequence analyses and Retrotransposon presence/absence data. The name comes from the theory that these mammals evolved on the supercontinent of Laurasia, after it split from Gondwana when Pangaea broke up. It is a sister group to Euarchontoglires (Supraprimates) and Afrotheria. It includes the following extant orders:
Within the Laurasiatheria, the Erinaceomorpha appears (surprisingly) to be the most divergent branch. Some studies link the Perissodactyla and Ferae in a clade Zooamata; others link Perissodactyla and Cetartiodactyla in a clade of true ungulates. Neither clade is well supported.
Laurasiatheria is also posited to include several extinct orders and superorders:
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