Epitheria
Sign in to saveEpitherians comprise all the placental mammals except the Xenarthra. They are primarily characterized by having a stirrup-shaped stapes in the middle ear, which allows for passage of a blood vessel. This is in contrast to the column-shaped stapes found in marsupials, monotremes, and xenarthrans. They are also characterized by having a shorter fibula relative to the tibia.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Placentalia
- Image
- Ein klippschliefer.jpg
Show 2 more facts
- taxon name
- Epitheria
- temporal range start
- Cretaceous
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Encyclopedic overview
3 sectionsContents
- Alternative hypotheses
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Epitherians comprise all the placental mammals except the Xenarthra. They are primarily characterized by having a stirrup-shaped stapes in the middle ear, which allows for passage of a blood vessel. This is in contrast to the column-shaped stapes found in marsupials, monotremes, and xenarthrans. They are also characterized by having a shorter fibula relative to the tibia.
Epitheria like Xenarthra and Afrotheria originated after the K-Pg boundary , with the placental diversification occurring within the first hundred thousand years after the K-Pg event and the first modern placental orders began appearing 2–3 million years later. Epitheres are one of the most successful groups of animals.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Epitheria” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.