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HOME --> CLASS MAMMALIA
--> ORDER CARNIVORA
--> SUBORDER CANIFORMIA
FAMILY Ailuridae
| Author: | Gray, 1843. | | Citation: | List Spec. Mamm. Coll. B.M.: xxi.. | | Comments: | Biochemical and molecular evidence has suggested that the enigmatic Ailurus is either (1) intermediate between procyonids and ursids (O'Brien et al., 1985; Sarich, 1973; Tagle et al., 1986; Wayne et al., 1989; Wurster and Benirschke, 1968); (2) more closely related to ursids than to procyonids (Todd and Pressmann, 1968; Zhang and Shi, 1991); (3) more closely related to procyonids than to ursids (Goldman et al., 1989; Pecon Slattery and O'Brien, 1995), or, finally; (4) more closely related to mephitids+procyonids (Bininda-Emonds et al., 1999; Flynn et al., 2000). Morphological studies have pointed out the lack of any shared derived features with the procyonids (Bugge, 1978; Decker and Wozencraft, 1991; Ginsburg, 1982; Hunt, 1974; Mayr, 1986; Schmidt-Kittler, 1981; Wozencraft, 1989a, b). Flynn et al. (1988) could not find any unambiguous features to place Ailurus with the procyonids, and only two characters to unite Ailurus with some procyonids, the loss of M3 (shared also with mustelids) and the presence of a cusp on P4 on some, but not all procyonids. Wozencraft (1989) found nine shared derived features with the Ursidae, and Decker and Wozencraft (1991) identified six unambiguous shared derived features of the procyonids, all of which are lacking in Ailurus. Flynn et al. (2000) showed strong support for a musteloid clade consisting of Ailurus, Mephitidae, Mustelidae, and Procyonidae. Synonyms allocated according to McKenna and Bell (1997). |
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| Offspring: GENUS Ailurus SPECIES fulgens SUBSPECIES fulgens SUBSPECIES refulgens | Synonyms:
Ailuridae Flower, 1869
Ailuridae Gray, 1869
Ailurina Gray, 1843
Ailurinae Trouessart, 1885
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