06/03/2021
One of Zoë’s favorites!!
Unexpected Family Tree
The Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is unique among living mammals - it is the only member of the order Tubulidentata. Modern aardvarks have changed very little over the past 36 million years, and you have to go back 50 million years to find a common ancestor with other mammals! The aardvark's closest (but still distant) living relatives are other members of the "Afrotheria" clade of mammals.
Afrotheria Clade
This clade includes the orders: Tubulidentata, Afrosoricida, Sirenia, Macroscelidea, Hyracoidea and Proboscidea
Tubulidentata - This order includes only the aardvark
Afrosoricida - This order includes golden moles and tenrecs
Sirenia - This order includes manatees and dugongs
Macroscelidea - This order includes elephant shrews
Hyracoidea - This order includes hyraxes
Proboscidea - This order includes elephants
Special thanks to Brent Huffman for lending his impressive expertise to support on this graphic. We have learned a lot from him over the years and you can too, check out his awesome website, www.ultimateungulate.com. It is great resource for all things ungulate related.
Limited Edition Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PeppermintNarwhal
ON SALE: Animal Face Masks 20% off & 2021 Animal Holiday Calendar 40% Off. All sales are available for a limited time based on the post date of this graphic and will end soon.
