Tethytheria
Tethytheria is a clade of paenungulate mammals that includes the sirenians, proboscideans,
and the extinct order Embrithopoda.
Though there is strong anatomical and molecular support for the monophyly of Tethytheria, the interrelationships between the included taxa remain disputed. The tethytheres are united by several characters, including anteriorly facing orbits and more or less bilophodont cheek teeth. Proboscidea and Sirenia are linked together based on auditory characters in their petrosal bones, but this link may be a homoplasy. Desmostylians, traditionally considered tethytheres, have been tentatively assigned to Perissodactyla, along with the Early Eocene family Anthracobunidae, which was considered a sister group to Tethytheria.
Systematics
modified from and.Classification
Classification modified from.- Clade Tethytheria
- * order †Embrithopoda
- ** †Phenacolophidae
- ** †Arsinoitheriidae
- * order Sirenia
- ** †Prorastomidae
- ** †Protosirenidae
- ** Dugongidae
- ** Trichechidae
- * order Proboscidea
- ** †Phosphatheriidae
- ** †Numidotheriidae
- ** †Moeritheriidae
- ** †Barytheriidae
- ** †Deinotheriidae
- ** †Palaeomastodontidae
- ** †Phiomiidae
- ** †Hemimastodontidae
- ** †Mammutidae
- ** †Gomphotheriidae
- ** Elephantidae