Eupholidota

Eupholidota; Temporal range: Pal. Eocene Oligo. Miocene P P Middle Eocene - Present
	Various living and extinct pangolin genera; from top down: Manis, Patriomanis and Eomanis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Placentalia
Clade:	Pholidotamorpha
Order:	Pholidota
Suborder:	Eupholidota; Gaudin, 2009
Superfamilies
	Manoidea; †Eomanoidea;

Eupholidota ("true pangolins") is a suborder of pangolins that includes two superfamilies: extant Manoidea and extinct Eomanoidea.^[1]^[2]

Description

One of the main features that defines the members of the suborder Eupholidota, and which is not present in other members of the order Pholidota, is the large protective keratin scales that cover their thick skin. They are arranged like tiles over their bodies, overlapping one another to form a shell that covers the entire body except for the abdomen. Short hairs can also be found between the scales and on the rest of the body.^[1]

Taxonomy

Suborder: Eupholidota (Gaudin, 2009) (true pangolins) Superfamily: Manoidea (Gaudin, 2009) Family: Manidae (Gray, 1821) (living pangolins) Family: †Patriomanidae (Szalay & Schrenk, 1998) Incertae sedis Genus: †Necromanis (Filhol, 1894) Superfamily: †Eomanoidea (Gaudin, 2009) Family: †Eomanidae (Storch, 2003)

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic position of suborder Eupholidota within order Pholidota based on Rose (2026.) study:^[3]

outhgroup

Pholidotamorpha

	†Afredentata

	†Palaeanodonta

†Euromanis

Pholidota

Eupholidota

†Eomanoidea

†Eomanidae

Manoidea

Manidae

?	†Necromanis

	†Patriomanidae

sensu stricto

(Pholidota [sensu lato])

References

1 2 3 Gaudin, Timothy (2009). "The Phylogeny of Living and Extinct Pangolins (Mammalia, Pholidota) and Associated Taxa: A Morphology Based Analysis" (PDF). Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 16 (4). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Science+Business Media: 235–305. doi:10.1007/s10914-009-9119-9. S2CID 1773698. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
↑ Kondrashov, Peter; Agadjanian, Alexandre K. (2012). "A nearly complete skeleton of Ernanodon (Mammalia, Palaeanodonta) from Mongolia: morphofunctional analysis". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (5): 983–1001. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.694319. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 86059673.
↑ Rose, K. D.; Rabenstein, R.; Habersetzer, J.; Gaudin, T. J. (2026). "Anatomy of Eurotamandua joresi (Mammalia) from Grube Messel, Germany, based on computed tomography, and implications for its relationships. Part I: Background and forelimb". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. doi:10.1007/s12549-025-00686-x.

[web2.utc.edu-1] 1 2 3 Gaudin, Timothy (2009). "The Phylogeny of Living and Extinct Pangolins (Mammalia, Pholidota) and Associated Taxa: A Morphology Based Analysis" (PDF). Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 16 (4). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Science+Business Media: 235–305. doi:10.1007/s10914-009-9119-9. S2CID 1773698. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2020-11-16.

[KondrashovAgadjanian2012-2] Kondrashov, Peter; Agadjanian, Alexandre K. (2012). "A nearly complete skeleton of Ernanodon (Mammalia, Palaeanodonta) from Mongolia: morphofunctional analysis". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (5): 983–1001. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.694319. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 86059673.

[Rose2026-3] Rose, K. D.; Rabenstein, R.; Habersetzer, J.; Gaudin, T. J. (2026). "Anatomy of Eurotamandua joresi (Mammalia) from Grube Messel, Germany, based on computed tomography, and implications for its relationships. Part I: Background and forelimb". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. doi:10.1007/s12549-025-00686-x.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Description

Taxonomy

Phylogeny

See also

References