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I consider the trichotomy as the best option for this phylogeny. For it reflects better the apparent inconsistencies, which must be the result of a mosaic of characters, which must remained for a long time....
From this point of view...Ferungulata makes no sense. We had three independent groups: Ferae, Archonta and Ungulata. Cimolesta (Procerberus) is the outermost and most conservative group of the ARBOREA. |
THE EVOLUTION OF ASTRAGALUS IN ARCHONTA
| Dryomomys, Purgatorius and Plesiadapis form a more conservative group (PLESIADAPIDAE) at the base of the Archonta. There is a complex relationship between Archonta and Ferungulata. Probably a true trichotomy, with 3 initial nuclei that have been defined. Of these initial nuclei certainly the CARNIVORA are the most conservative. Although there is a very clear continuity, and long recognized (FERUNGULATA), between the Carnivora and the Ungulates, the ARCHONTA also evolved from this complex. They are probably linked through Protungulatum. |
