The
orderIn scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
Insectivora (from
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
insectum "insect" and
vorare "to eat") is a now-abandoned biological grouping within the class of
mammalMammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose females are characterized by the possession of mammary glands while both males and females are characterized by sweat glands, hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain.Mammals are divided into three main...
s.
In the past, the grouping was used as a scrapbasket for a variety of small to very small, relatively unspecialised, insectivorous mammals. Since any primitive-looking fossil groups of placental mammals were commonly assigned to this order for convenience, it was held to constitute the basal stock out of which other placental orders had evolved. At its widest extent, therefore, the order Insectivora was polyphyletic and cannot be considered a
cladeA clade is a term used in modern alpha taxonomy, the scientific classification of living and fossil organisms, to describe a monophyletic group, defined as a group consisting of a single common ancestor and all its descendants.[The term "monophyletic group" is used in this article...]
.
The
taxonomyAlpha taxonomy is the science of finding, describing and categorising organisms, thus leading to the recognition of proposed taxonomic groups, or taxa , which may then be named....
has been refined in recent years, and
treeshrewThe treeshrews are small mammals native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. They make up the families Tupaiidae, the treeshrews, and Ptilocercidae, the pen-tailed treeshrews, and the entire order Scandentia. There are 20 species in 5 genera...
s,
elephant shrewElephant shrews or jumping shrews are small insectivorous mammals native to Africa, belonging to the Macroscelididae family, in the order Macroscelidea. Their traditional common English name comes from a fancied resemblance between their long noses and the trunk of an elephant, and an assumed...
s, and
colugoColugos are arboreal gliding mammals found in South-east Asia. There are just two extant species, which make up the entire family Cynocephalidae and order Dermoptera. They are the most capable of all gliding mammals, using flaps of extra skin between their legs to glide from higher to lower...
s have now been placed in separate orders, as have many fossil groups that were formerly included here. For some time it was held that the remaining insectivoran families constituted a monophyletic grouping, or clade, to which the name
Lipotyphla had long been applied. However, molecular evidence indicated that Chrysochloridae (
golden moleGolden moles are small, insectivorous burrowing mammals native to southern Africa. They form the family Chrysochloridae, and so are taxonomically distinct from the true moles...
s) and Tenrecidae (tenrecs) also should be separated as a new order
AfrosoricidaThe order Afrosoricida contains the golden moles of southern Africa and the tenrecs of Madagascar and Africa, two families of small mammals that have traditionally been considered to be a part of the order Insectivora.Some biologists use Tenrecomorpha as the name for the tenrec-golden mole clade,...
. The species remaining in the clade Insectivora were then referred to as order
Eulipotyphla. After further scrutiny, other evidence now indicates that even Erinaceidae (
hedgehogA hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand. There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to North America;...
s) should also be placed in a separate order from the remainder, comprising the families Soricidae (shrews), Talpidae (
molesMoles are the majority of the members of the mammal family Talpidae in the order Soricomorpha. Although moles burrow, some species are semi-aquatic. Moles have cylindrical bodies covered in fur, with small or covered eyes; the ears are generally not visible. They eat small invertebrates living...
), Solenodontidae and Nesophontidae. These two orders, Erinaceomorpha and
SoricomorphaThe order Soricomorpha is a biological clade within the class of mammals. In previous years it formed a significant group within the former Insectivora order...
, now replace Insectivora. Molecular studies indicate that Soricomorpha is paraphyletic, because Soricidae shared a more recent common ancestor with Erinaceidae than with other soricomorphs.
- ORDER INSECTIVORA
- Family Erinaceidae
Erinaceidae is the only living family in the order of the Erinaceomorpha. It contains the well-known hedgehogs of Eurasia and Africa and the gymnures or moonrats of South-east Asia...
- Subfamily Erinaceinae: hedgehog
A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand. There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to North America;...
s
- Subfamily Hylomyinae: moonrats
Gymnures, also called Hairy Hedgehogs or Moonrats, are mammals belonging to the subfamily Galericinae, in the family Erinaceidae and the order Erinaceomorpha...
and gymnureGymnures, also called Hairy Hedgehogs or Moonrats, are mammals belonging to the subfamily Galericinae, in the family Erinaceidae and the order Erinaceomorpha...
s
- Family Soricidae
- Subfamily Crocidurinae: white-toothed shrew
The white-toothed shrews or Crocidurinae are one of three subfamilies of the shrew family Soricidae.Unlike the red-toothed shrews, the outer layer of their teeth is white. These species are typically found in Africa and southern Europe and Asia...
s
- Subfamily Soricinae: red-toothed shrew
The red-toothed shrews of the subfamily Soricinae are one of three living subfamilies of shrews, along with Crocidurinae and Myosoricinae . In addition, the family contains the extinct subfamilies Limnoecinae, Crocidosoricinae, Allosoricinae and Heterosoricinae...
s
- Subfamily Myosoricinae: African white-toothed shrews
- Family Talpidae
The family Talpidae includes the moles, shrew moles, desmans, and other intermediate forms of small insectivorous mammals of the order Soricomorpha. Moles are, to varying degrees, subterranean animals, whilst desmans are aquatic...
- Subfamily Desmaninae: desman
The desmans or tribe Desmanini are one of several tribes of the mole family Talpidae.This tribe consists of two species of aquatic or semi-aquatic insectivores found in Europe. Both species are considered to be vulnerable. They have webbed paws and their front paws are not designed for digging.The...
s
- Subfamily Talpinae: moles
Moles are the majority of the members of the mammal family Talpidae in the order Soricomorpha. Although moles burrow, some species are semi-aquatic. Moles have cylindrical bodies covered in fur, with small or covered eyes; the ears are generally not visible. They eat small invertebrates living...
- Subfamily Uropsilinae
The Uropsilinae are shrew-like moles endemic to the forested, high-alpine region bordering China, Myanmar, and Vietnam. They possess a long snout, a long slender tail, external ears, and small forefeet unspecialized for burrowing...
: shrew moles
- Family Solenodontidae
Solenodons are venomous, nocturnal, burrowing, insectivorous mammals belonging to the family Solenodontidae. Only one genus, Solenodon, is known, although a few other genera were erected at one time and are now regarded as junior synonyms...
: solenodons
- Family Nesophontidae: extinct West Indian shrews
Family-level cladogram of extant insectivoran relationships, following Roca et al.:
These families have been placed within Insectivora in the past:
- Family Chrysochloridae (golden mole
Golden moles are small, insectivorous burrowing mammals native to southern Africa. They form the family Chrysochloridae, and so are taxonomically distinct from the true moles...
s)
- Family Tenrecidae
Tenrecidae is a family of mammals found on Madagascar and parts of Africa. Tenrecs are widely diverse, resembling hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, mice and even otters, as a result of parallel evolution. They occupy aquatic, arboreal, terrestrial and fossorial environments...
(tenrecs)
- Family Macroscelididae (elephant shrew
Elephant shrews or jumping shrews are small insectivorous mammals native to Africa, belonging to the Macroscelididae family, in the order Macroscelidea. Their traditional common English name comes from a fancied resemblance between their long noses and the trunk of an elephant, and an assumed...
s)
- Family Tupaiidae
Tupaiidae is one of two families of treeshrews, which contains 4 genera and 19 species.-Taxonomy:*Order: Scandentia**Family: Tupaiidae***Genus: Anathana ***Genus: Dendrogale ***Genus: Tupaia...
(treeshrewThe treeshrews are small mammals native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. They make up the families Tupaiidae, the treeshrews, and Ptilocercidae, the pen-tailed treeshrews, and the entire order Scandentia. There are 20 species in 5 genera...
s)
- Family Cynocephalidae (colugo
Colugos are arboreal gliding mammals found in South-east Asia. There are just two extant species, which make up the entire family Cynocephalidae and order Dermoptera. They are the most capable of all gliding mammals, using flaps of extra skin between their legs to glide from higher to lower...
s)
Not to be confused with
insectivoreAn insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures.Although individually small, insects exist in enormous numbers and make up a very large part of the animal biomass in almost all non-marine environments...
s (the eaters of insects considered as an dietary behaviour), many of which belong to the Order Insectivora.