The position of Hippopotamidae within Cetartiodactyla.

ABSTRACT: The origin of late Neogene Hippopotamidae (Artiodactyla) involves one of the most serious conflicts between comparative anatomy and molecular biology: is Artiodactyla paraphyletic? Molecular comparisons indicate that Cetacea should be the modern sister group of hippos. This finding implies the existence of a fossil lineage linking cetaceans (first known in the early Eocene) to hippos (first known in the middle Miocene). The relationships of hippos within Artiodactyla are challenging, and the immediate affinities of Hippopotamidae have been studied by biologists for almost two centuries without resolution. Here, we compare opposing hypotheses implicating several "suiform" families. This morphological analysis of a comprehensive set of taxa and characters offers a robust solution to the orig

SUBMITTER: Boisserie JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC547867 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature