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Pronunciation varies by accent · adjective
(zoology) Belonging or pertaining to the superorder Afrotheria, which includes the elephants, aardvarks, golden moles, tenrecs, etc..
Although the monophyly of Afrotheria is well supported by recent molecular studies, the interrelationships within afrotherian mammals remain unclarified.
Just as molecular evidence from living mammals would predict, the African fossil record documents the presence of several afrotherian groups by early or middle Eocene time.
As their name implies, afrotherians putatively represent a radiation of placentals rooted in the African continent and nearby island of Madagascar.
Alternatively, the afrotherians may have originated in Europe, and an elephant-shrew like creature crossed into Africa and gave rise to the great diversity of afrotherians—from elephants to golden moles—that inhabit the continent today.
Use afrotherian when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.
Afrotherian means (zoology) Belonging or pertaining to the superorder Afrotheria, which includes the elephants, aardvarks, golden moles, tenrecs, etc..
Common synonyms include afrothere.
The opposite depends on the specific sense.
Although the monophyly of Afrotheria is well supported by recent molecular studies, the interrelationships within afrotherian mammals remain unclarified.
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