ORDER PROBOSCIDEA ORDER SIRENIA FAMILY ELEPHANTIDAE … to Know Afrotheria2.pdf · order...

ORDER PROBOSCIDEA FAMILY ELEPHANTIDAE GENUS Elephas ORDER HYRACOIDEA FAMILY PROCAVIIDAE GENUS Procavia

ORDER SIRENIA FAMILY DUGONG GENUS Dugong FAMILY TRICHECHIDAE GENUS Trichechus ORDER TUBILDENTATA FAMILY ORYCTEROPODIDAE GENUS Orycteropus

ORDER

FAMILY ORYCTEROPODIDAE

GENUS: Orycteropus

FAMILY ORYCTEROPODIDAE

-teeth are flat-topped, lack enamel -mesial drift -diet: ants and termites -fossorial

Range: Africa, south of the Sahara

GENUS: Orycteropus

ORDER

FAMILY ELEPHANTIDAE

GENUS: Elephas

Range: Africa south of Sahara (Loxodon); Southern Asia (Elephas)

FAMILY ELEPHANTIDAE GENUS: Elephas

- mesial drift - lophodont teeth - ever-growing incisors (tusks) - herbivores - heavy skull lightened by air cavities - matrilines - 80 year lifespan - 18-24 month gestation

ORDER

FAMILY PROCAVIIDAE

GENUS: Procavia

FAMILY PROCAVIIDAE GENUS: Procavia

-special muscular pads on soles for traction on rocky areas and form ‘suction cups’ -upper incisors ever- growing -enamel only on front -herbivorous -nocturnal

Range: Africa, south of the Sahara but extends in E. Africa to the Middle East

ORDER

FAMILY DUGONGIDAE

GENUS: Dugong

FAMILY DUGONGIDAE

GENUS: Dugong

- has forelimbs, no hindlimbs -tail has two pointed projections -nasal bones reduced or absent -teeth are simple columnar - 2 tusk-like incisors - Stellar’s sea cow extinct (Bering Sea)

Range: E. Africa, S. Asia, and Australia coastal waters

FAMILY TRICHECHIDAE

GENUS: TrichechuS

FAMILY TRICHECHIDAE GENUS: TrichechuS

-round, paddle-like tail -no upper incisors -mesial drift -pachyostosis = dense rib bones used as ballast to fight buoyancy -only 6 cervical vertebrae

Range: N. and S. America warm coastal waters on Atlantic side; west Africa; sometimes migrate deep up rivers