Monotreme Subgroups
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Monotremata
Living monotremes are classified into two families; the Ornithirhynchidae
(Platypus family) and the Tachyglossidae (echidnas) and are all
indenous to australia and New Guinea. However, the order used
to be much more diverse with two other families recognised; the
Kollikodontidae and the Steropdontidae. Below is a summery of
the fossil and extant species currently known (those species in
red are now extinct):
- Family: Kollikodontidae
- Kollikodon ritchiei - ancemt monotreme 108-96 million years old
- Family: Steropodontidae
- Steropodon galmani
- Teinolophos trusleri - 123 million years old, the oldest monotreme
specimen
- Family: Ornithorynchidae
- Monotrematum sudamericanum - oldest specimen
61 million years old
- Obdurodon dicksoni
- Obduridon insignis
- Ornithorynchus anatinus (modern platypus), oldest specimen
of genus is 4.5 million years old
- Family: Tachyglossidae
- Megalibgwilia ramsayi
- Megalibgwilia robusta
- Tachyglossus aculeate (short-nosed echidna)
- Zaglossus bruijnii (long-nosed echidna)
- Zaglossus hacketti - oldest Zaglossus genus member is 1 - 1.8 million
years old
|
Relative size of the extinct Megalibgwilia
ramsayi |
 |
- Source: Flannery, T.F., Archer.,M, Rich, T. H. & Jones,
R. 1995. A new family of monotremes from the Cretaceous of Australia.
Nature 377, 418 - 420.
- www.wekipedia.org
Author: Catrin Roberts
Last updated: 23.11.83
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