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HOME --> CLASS MAMMALIA
--> ORDER RODENTIA
--> SUBORDER HYSTRICOMORPHA
--> INFRAORDER CTENODACTYLOMORPHI
FAMILY Ctenodactylidae
| Author: | Gervais, 1853. | | Citation: | Ann. Sci. Nat. (Paris), ser. 3, 20: 245. | | Comments: | Reviewed by W. George (1979a). The phylogenetic position of the Ctenodactylidae has traditionally been uncertain, being either grouped with the Hystricognathi or considered a quite separate and early ofshoot of the rodent stem (Hartenberger, 1985). According to Luckett (1985), Bugge (1985), and George (1985), ctenodactylids are an early offshoot of the hystricognathous rodents. Beintema et al. (1991), stating that no molecular data were available, investigated tissues, blood, and proteins and concluded that it was not yet possible to determine whether ctenodactylids and hystricognathous rodents "share a common ancestor or are located on separate branches." Huchon et al. (2000), using the von Willebrand factor (vWF) gene and working with two different molecular dating methods, concluded that their analyses strongly supported a sister-clade relationship between Ctenodactylidae and Hystricognathi and rejected the possibility that the Ctenodactylidae alone might be the earliest branching among rodents. The authors considered the new clade as a monophyletic suborder and named it "Ctenohystrica", including all extant Ctenodactylidae and Hystricognathi. |
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