Mammal superfamilies

The Muroidea are a large superfamily of rodents, including mice, rats, voles, hamsters, lemmings, gerbils, and many other relatives. Although the Muroidea originated in Eurasia, they occupy a vast variety of habitats on every continent except Antarctica. Some authorities have placed all members of this group into a single family, Muridae, due to difficulties in determining how the subfamilies are related to one another. Many of the families within the Muroidea superfamily have more variations between the families than between the different clades. A possible explanation for the variations in r

Musteloidea is a superfamily of carnivoran mammals united by shared characteristics of the skull and teeth. Musteloids are the sister group of pinnipeds, the group which includes seals and allies.

Lorisoidea is a superfamily of nocturnal primates found throughout Africa and Asia. Members include the galagos and the lorisids. As strepsirrhines, lorisoids are related to the lemurs of Madagascar and are sometimes included in the infraorder Lemuriformes, although they are also sometimes placed in their own infraorder, Lorisiformes Gregory, 1915.

Rhinocerotoidea is a superfamily of perissodactyls that appeared 56 million years ago in the Paleocene. They included four extinct families, the Amynodontidae, the Hyracodontidae, the Paraceratheriidae, and the Eggysodontidae. The only extant family is the Rhinocerotidae (true rhinoceroses), which survives as five living species. Extinct non-rhinocerotid members of the group are sometimes considered rhinoceroses in a broad sense. Although the term 'rhinoceroses' is sometimes used to refer to all of these, a less ambiguous vernacular term for this group is 'rhinocerotoids'. The family Paracerat

Delphinoidea are the largest group of toothed whales, including 66 genera in 6 families. The largest living member of the superfamily is the orca, which can reach 6 tons, while the smallest is the vaquita.

Petauroidea is a superfamily of marsupials from Australia and New Guinea. It is part of the suborder Phalangeriformes within the order Diprotodontia, which also includes, among others, wombats, kangaroos, cuscuses. The superfamily Phalangeroidea, including cuscuses and brushtail possums (family Phalangeridae) and pygmy possums (family Burramyidae), is the immediate sister group of the Petauroidea. The earliest fossils from this superfamily are from the Oligocene of the Geilston Bay fossil site in Tasmania.

Geomyoidea is a superfamily of rodent that contains the pocket gophers (Geomyidae), the kangaroo rats and mice (Heteromyidae), and their fossil relatives.

Herpestoidea is a superfamily of Mammalia carnivores which includes mongooses, Malagasy carnivorans and the hyenas.

Tapiroidea is a superfamily of perissodactyls which includes the modern tapirs and their extinct relatives. Taxonomically, they are placed in suborder Ceratomorpha along with the rhino superfamily, Rhinocerotoidea. The first members of Tapiroidea appeared during the Early Eocene, 55 million years ago, and were present in North America and Asia during the Eocene. Tapiridae first appeared during the early Oligocene in Europe, and are thought to have originated from the tapiroid family Helaletidae.

Rhinolophoidea is a superfamily of bats. It contains the following families: Craseonycteridae, Hipposideridae, Megadermatidae, Rhinolophidae, Rhinonycteridae, and Rhinopomatidae. It is one of two superfamilies that make up the suborder Yinpterochiroptera, the other being Pteropodoidea, which only contains the family Pteropodidae.

Bovoidea is a superfamily of pecoran ruminants containing the Bovidae and Moschidae. The Bovoidea today is defined in part by very specific dental and anatomical traits, and genetic research indicates that the Moschidae is the sister taxon to the Bovidae.

Noctilionoidea is a superfamily of bats containing seven families: Thyropteridae, Furipteridae, Noctilionidae, Mormoopidae, Phyllostomidae, Myzopodidae, and Mystacinidae.

Dipodoidea is a superfamily of rodents, also known as dipodoids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. This superfamily includes over 50 species among the 16 genera in 3 families. They include the jerboas (family Dipodidae), jumping mice (family Zapodidae), and birch mice (family Sminthidae). Different species are found in grassland, deserts, and forests. They are all capable of saltation (jumping while in a bipedal stance), a feature that is most highly evolved in the desert-dwelling jerboas.

Manoidea ("spirits") is a superfamily of pangolins from suborder Eupholidota that includes extant family Manidae, extinct family Patriomanidae and extinct genus Necromanis.

Otarioidea is a superfamily of pinnipeds that includes the families Odobenidae, Otariidae and their stem-relatives. In the past when the pinnipeds were considered to be a polyphyletic group of marine mammals, a few points of cranial and dental morphology suggested that the otarioids originated from a line of bears. One extinct family, Enaliarctidae, was postulated to be otarioids that were a transitional clade between Hemicyoninae (an extinct subfamily of dog-like bears) and Otariidae. Recent comprehensive studies have, however, since the 1990s found pinnipeds to be a monophyletic clade of aqu

Vespertilionoidea is a superfamily of bats containing five families: Cistugidae, Miniopteridae, Molossidae, Natalidae, and Vespertilionidae. It is one of three superfamilies in the suborder Yangochiroptera, the others being Noctilionoidea and Emballonuroidea.

Merycoidodontoidea, previously known as "oreodonts" or "ruminating hogs," are an extinct superfamily of prehistoric cud-chewing artiodactyls with short faces and fang-like canine teeth. As their name implies, some of the better known forms were generally hog-like, and the group has traditionally been placed within the Suina (pigs, peccaries and their ancestors), though some recent work suggests they may have been more closely related to camels. "Oreodont" means "mountain teeth," referring to the appearance of the molars. Most merycoidodontoids were sheep-sized, though some genera grew to the s

thumb | right Emballonuroidea is a superfamily of bats containing two families: Emballonuridae and Nycteridae. It is one of three superfamilies in the suborder Yangochiroptera, the others being Noctilionoidea and Vespertilionoidea. Emballonurids are also known as sheath-tailed bats and sac-winged bats: the latter name refers to the glandular sac found on the edge of the wings in many species, used to produce a scent which represents territorial dominance and social presence. The Emballonuridae family contains 13 genera and 47 species, present in subtropical and tropical areas of the world. The

Equoidea is a superfamily of hippomorph perissodactyls containing the Equidae, Palaeotheriidae, and other basal equoids of unclear affinities, of which members of the genus Equus are the only extant species. The earliest fossil record of the Equoidea proves unclear, but they possibly could have originated during the late Paleocene in Europe or Asia. Definite fossil records of equoids are recorded by the earliest Eocene, in which the earliest equids in North America and basal equoids of unclear affinities in Europe both appeared. Palaeotheres are thought to have originated later in the early Eo

Ursoidea is a superfamily of arctoid carnivoran mammals that includes the families Subparictidae, Amphicynodontidae, and Ursidae. The last family includes the extant lineages of bears, as well as the extinct Hemicyoninae and Ursavinae.

Pliopithecoidea is an extinct superfamily of catarrhine primates that inhabited Asia and Europe during the Miocene. Although they were once a widespread and diverse group of primates, the pliopithecoids have no living descendants.