Editing Ungulate (section)

===History===
Euungulata is a clade (or in some taxonomies, a grand order) of mammals. The two extant orders of ungulates are the [[Odd-toed ungulate|Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates)]] and [[Even-toed ungulate|Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)]]. [[Hyrax|Hyracoidea (hyraxes)]], [[Sirenia|Sirenia (sea cows, dugongs and manatees)]] and [[Proboscidea|Proboscidea (elephants)]] were in the past grouped within the clade "Ungulata", later found to be a [[polyphyletic]] and invalid clade. The three orders of Paenungulata are considered a clade and grouped in the Afrotheria clade, while Euungulata is grouped under the [[Laurasiatheria]] clade.<ref name="euungulata"/>

In 2009, morphological<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Asher | first1 = RJ | last2 = Bennet | first2 = N | last3 = Lehmann | first3 = T | year = 2009 | title = The new framework for understanding placental mammal evolution | journal = BioEssays | volume = 31 | issue = 8| pages = 853–864 | doi=10.1002/bies.200900053 | pmid=19582725| s2cid = 46339675 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="Tabuce">{{cite journal | last1 = Tabuce | first1 = R. | last2 = Marivaux | first2 = L. | last3 = Adaci | first3 = M. | last4 = Bensalah | first4 = M. | last5 = Hartenberger | first5 = J. L. | display-authors = etal   | year = 2007 | title = Early tertiary mammals from north Africa reinforce the molecular afrotheria clade | journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society B | volume = 274 | issue = 1614| pages = 1159–1166 | doi=10.1098/rspb.2006.0229 | pmid=17329227 | pmc=2189562}}</ref><ref name="Seiffert">{{cite journal | last1 = Seiffert | first1 = E | year = 2007 | title = A new estimate of afrotherian phylogeny based on simultaneous analysis of genomic, morphological, and fossil evidence | journal = BMC Evol Biol | volume = 7 | page = 13 | doi = 10.1186/1471-2148-7-224 | pmid = 17999766 | pmc = 2248600 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="SanchezVillagra">{{cite journal | last1 = Sanchez-Villagra | first1 = M. R. | last2 = Narita | first2 = Y. | last3 = Kuratani | first3 = S. | year = 2007 | title = Thoracolumbar vertebral number: the first skeletal synapomorphy for afrotherian mammals | journal = Syst Biodivers | volume = 5 | pages = 1–17 | doi = 10.1017/S1477200006002258 | s2cid = 85675984 }}</ref> and molecular<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Springer | first1 = MS | last2 = Stanhope | first2 = MJ | last3 = Madsen | first3 = O | last4 = de Jong | first4 = WW | year = 2004 | title = Molecules consolidate the placental mammal tree | journal = Trends Ecol Evol | volume = 19 | issue = 8| pages = 430–438 | doi=10.1016/j.tree.2004.05.006 | pmid=16701301| s2cid = 1508898 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Robinson | first1 = M. A. Yang | last2 = Fu | first2 = T. J. | last3 = Ferguson-Smith | first3 = B. | year = 2004 | title = Cross-species chromosome painting in the golden mole and elephant-shrew: support for the mammalian clades Afrotheria and Afroinsectiphillia but not Afroinsectivora | journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society B | volume = 271 | issue = 1547| pages = 1477–1484 | doi=10.1098/rspb.2004.2754 | pmid=15306319 | pmc=1691750}}</ref> work found that aardvarks, hyraxes, sea cows, and elephants were more closely related to each other and to [[sengi]]s, [[tenrec]]s, and [[golden mole]]s than to the perissodactyls and artiodactyls, and form the clade [[Afrotheria]]. Elephants, sea cows, and hyraxes were grouped together in the clade [[Paenungulata]], while the aardvark has been considered as either a close relative to them or a close relative to sengis in the clade [[Afroinsectiphilia]].<ref name=Seiffert2007>{{cite journal | author = Seiffert, E.R. | year = 2007 | title = A new estimate of afrotherian phylogeny based on simultaneous analysis of genomic, morphological, and fossil evidence | journal = BMC Evolutionary Biology | volume = 7 | pages = 13 | url= | doi = 10.1186/1471-2148-7-224 | pmid = 17999766 | last2 = Guillon | first2 = JM | pmc=2248600 | issue=1 | doi-access = free }}</ref> This is a striking example of [[convergent evolution]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Dawkins|first=Richard|title=The Ancestor's Tale|publisher=Mariner Books|location=Boston|year=2005|page=[https://archive.org/details/ancestorstale00rich_0/page/195 195]|isbn=978-0-618-61916-0|url=https://archive.org/details/ancestorstale00rich_0/page/195}}</ref>

There is some dispute as to whether this smaller Euungulata is a [[cladistic]] (evolution-based) group, or merely a [[phenetics|phenetic]] group ([[Form classification|form taxon]]) or [[folk taxon]] (similar, but not necessarily related). Some studies have indeed found the [[mesaxonia]]n ungulates and paraxonian ungulates to form a monophyletic lineage,<ref name=asher>{{cite journal|last1=Asher|first1=Robert J|last2=Helgen|first2=Kristofer M|title=Nomenclature and placental mammal phylogeny|journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology|volume=10|issue=1|year=2010|pages=102|doi=10.1186/1471-2148-10-102|pmid=20406454|pmc=2865478 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=Spauldingetal2009>{{cite journal|pmc=2740860 | pmid=19774069 | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0007062 | volume=4 | issue=9 | title=Relationships of Cetacea (Artiodactyla) among mammals: increased taxon sampling alters interpretations of key fossils and character evolution | year=2009 | journal=PLOS ONE | pages=e7062|bibcode = 2009PLoSO...4.7062S|editor1-last=Farke|editor1-first=Andrew Allen|last1=Spaulding|first1=Michelle|last2=O'Leary|first2=Maureen A.|last3=Gatesy|first3=John | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name= "Nery">{{Cite journal | last1 = Nery | first1 = M. F. | last2 = González | first2 = D. M. J. | last3 = Hoffmann | first3 = F. G. | last4 = Opazo | first4 = J. C. | title = Resolution of the laurasiatherian phylogeny: Evidence from genomic data | doi = 10.1016/j.ympev.2012.04.012 | journal = Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume = 64 | issue = 3 | pages = 685–689 | year = 2012 | pmid =  22560954}}</ref> closely related to either the [[Ferae]] (the [[carnivora]]ns and the [[pangolin]]s)<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Beck|first1=Robin MD|last2=Bininda-Emonds|first2=Olaf RP|last3=Cardillo|first3=Marcel|last4=Liu|first4=Fu-Guo|last5=Purvis|first5=Andy|journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology|volume=6|issue=1|year=2006|pages=93|doi=10.1186/1471-2148-6-93|title=A higher-level MRP supertree of placental mammals|pmid=17101039|pmc=1654192 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Zhou, X. |year=2011 |title=Phylogenomic analysis resolves the interordinal relationships and rapid diversification of the Laurasiatherian mammals  |journal=[[Systematic Biology]] |doi=10.1093/sysbio/syr089 |volume=61 |pages=150–64 |pmid=21900649 |pmc=3243735 |issue=1 |first2=S. |last2=Xu |first3=J. |last3=Xu |first4=B. |last4=Chen |first5=K. |last5=Zhou |first6=G. |last6=Yang|display-authors=etal}}</ref> in the clade [[Fereuungulata]] or to the [[bat]]s.<ref>{{cite web | title = Researchers Greatly Improve Evolutionary Tree of Life for Mammals | url = http://newsroom.ucr.edu/2729 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111001174523/http://newsroom.ucr.edu/2729 | archive-date = 1 October 2011 | date = 22 September 2011 | website = UCR Newsroom | publisher = UC Riverside | access-date = 9 April 2021}}</ref> Other studies found the two orders not that closely related, as some place the perissodactyls as close relatives to bats and Ferae in [[Pegasoferae]]<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Nishihara | first1 = H.| last2 = Hasegawa | first2 = M.| last3 = Okada | first3 = N.| title = Pegasoferae, an unexpected mammalian clade revealed by tracking ancient retroposon insertions | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0603797103 | journal = [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]]| volume = 103 | issue = 26 | pages = 9929–9934 | year = 2006 | pmid = 16785431| pmc = 1479866| bibcode = 2006PNAS..103.9929N| doi-access = free}}</ref> and others place the artiodactyls as close relatives to bats.<ref name=Gatesy>{{cite journal | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2012.10.012 | volume=66 | issue=2 | title=A phylogenetic blueprint for a modern whale | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | pages=479–506 | pmid=23103570 | last1 = Gatesy | first1 = J | last2 = Geisler | first2 = JH | last3 = Chang | first3 = J | last4 = Buell | first4 = C | last5 = Berta | first5 = A | last6 = Meredith | first6 = RW | last7 = Springer | first7 = MS | last8 = McGowen | first8 = MR| date=February 2013 }}</ref>