Biology:Theria

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Short description: Subclass of mammals in the clade Theriiformes
For the moth genus, see Theria (moth).

Theria
Temporal range: Late Jurassic – recent, 161–0 Ma

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Scientific classification e
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Clade: Tribosphenida
Subclass: Theria
Parker & Haswell, 1897[1]
Infraclasses

Theria (/ˈθɪəriə/ or /ˈθɛriə/; from grc θηρίον (thēríon) 'wild beast') is a subclass of mammals[2] amongst the Theriiformes. Theria includes the eutherians (including the placental mammals) and the metatherians (including the marsupials) but excludes the egg-laying monotremes and various extinct mammals evolving prior to the common ancestor of placentals and marsupials.

Characteristics

Therian mammals give birth (see viviparity) to live young without a shelled egg. This is possible thanks to key proteins called syncytins which allow exchanges between the mother and its offspring through a placenta, even rudimental ones such as in marsupials. Genetic studies have suggested a viral origin of syncytins through the endogenization process.[3]

The marsupials and the placental mammals evolved from a common therian ancestor that gave live birth by suppressing the mother's immune system. While the marsupials continued to give birth to an underdeveloped fetus after a short pregnancy, the ancestors of placental mammals gradually evolved a prolonged pregnancy.[4]

Therian mammals no longer have the coracoid bone, unlike their cousins, monotremes.

Pinnae (external ears) are also a distinctive trait that is a therian exclusivity, though some therians, such as the earless seals, have lost them secondarily.[5]

Evolution

The earliest known therian mammal fossil is Juramaia, from China's Late Jurassic (Oxfordian stage). However, the age estimates of the site are disputed based on the geological complexity and the geographically widespread nature of the Tiaojishan Formations.[6][7] Further, King and Beck in 2020 argue for an Early Cretaceous age for Juramaia sinensis, in line with similar early mammaliaformes.[8]

A recent review of the Southern Hemisphere Mesozoic mammal fossil record has argued that triosphenic mammals arose in the Southern Hemisphere during the Early Jurassic, around 50 million years prior to the clade's earliest undisputed appearance in the Northern Hemisphere.[9]

Molecular data suggests that therians may have originated even earlier, during the Early Jurassic.[10] Therian mammals began to diversify 10-20 million years before the dinosaur extinction.[11]

Taxonomy

Main page: Biology:Mammal classification

The rank of "Theria" may vary depending on the classification system used. The textbook classification system by Vaughan et al. (2000)[12] gives the following:

Class Mammalia

  • Subclass Theria: live-bearing mammals

In the above system Theria is a subclass. Alternatively, in the system proposed by McKenna and Bell (1997)[13] it is ranked as a supercohort under the subclass Theriiformes:

Class Mammalia

  • Subclass Theriiformes: live-bearing mammals and their prehistoric relatives

Another classification proposed by Luo et al. (2002)[14] does not assign any rank to the taxonomic levels, but uses a purely cladistic system instead.

See also

References

  1. ↑ ITIS Standard Report Page: Theria
  2. ↑ Myers, P.; R. Espinosa. "Subclass Theria". Animal Diversity Web. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Theria.html. 
  3. ↑ Cornelis, G.; Vernochet, C.; Carradec, Q.; Souquere, S.; Mulot, B.; Catzeflis, F.; Nilsson, M. A.; Menzies, B. R. et al. (2015). "Retroviral envelope gene captures and syncytin exaptation for placentation in marsupials". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 112 (5): E487–E496. doi:10.1073/pnas.1417000112. PMID 25605903. Bibcode: 2015PNAS..112E.487C. 
  4. ↑ Ancient “genomic parasites” spurred evolution of pregnancy in mammals
  5. ↑ SUMIYAMA K; MIYAKE T; GRIMWOOD J; STUART A; DICKSON M; SCHMUTZ J; RUDDLE FH; MYERS RM et al. (2012). "Theria-Specific Homeodomain and cis-Regulatory Element Evolution of the Dlx3–4 Bigene Cluster in 12 Different Mammalian Species". Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution 318 (8): 639–650. doi:10.1002/jez.b.22469. PMID 22951979. 
  6. ↑ Bi, Shundong; Zheng, Xiaoting; Wang, Xiaoli; Cignetti, Natalie E.; Yang, Shiling; Wible, John R. (June 2018). "An Early Cretaceous eutherian and the placental-marsupial dichotomy". Nature 558 (7710): 390–395. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0210-3. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 29899454. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29899454/. 
  7. ↑ Meng, Jin (2014). "Mesozoic mammals of China: implications for phylogeny and early evolution of mammals". National Science Review (1): 521–542. https://academic.oup.com/nsr/article/1/4/521/1512656. 
  8. ↑ King, Benedict; Beck, Robin M. D. (2020-06-10). "Tip dating supports novel resolutions of controversial relationships among early mammals" (in en). Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 287 (1928): 20200943. doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.0943. ISSN 0962-8452. PMID 32517606. PMC 7341916. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.0943. 
  9. ↑ Flannery, Timothy F.; Rich, Thomas H.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Veatch, E. Grace; Helgen, Kristofer M. (2022-10-02). "The Gondwanan Origin of Tribosphenida (Mammalia)" (in en). Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology 46 (3-4): 277–290. doi:10.1080/03115518.2022.2132288. ISSN 0311-5518. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2022.2132288. 
  10. ↑ Hugall, A.F. et al. (2007) Calibration choice, rate smoothing, and the pattern of tetrapod diversification according to the long nuclear gene RAG-1. Syst Biol. 56(4):543-63.
  11. ↑ Golembiewski, Kate (2 June 2016). "Mammals began their takeover long before the death of the dinosaurs". Field Museum of Natural History. https://www.fieldmuseum.org/blog/mammals-began-their-takeover-long-death-dinosaurs. 
  12. ↑ Vaughan, Terry A., James M. Ryan, and Nicholas J. Czaplewski. 2000. Mammalogy: Fourth Edition. Saunders College Publishing, 565 pp. ISBN:0-03-025034-X
  13. ↑ McKenna, Malcolm C., and Bell, Susan K. 1997. Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press, New York, 631 pp. ISBN:0-231-11013-8
  14. ↑ Luo, Z.-X., Z. Kielan-Jaworowska, and R. L. Cifelli. 2002. In quest for a phylogeny of Mesozoic mammals. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 47:1-78.

External links

Wikidata ☰ Q130942 entry



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