science

Laurasiatheria

Laurasiatheria is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Laurasiatheria rather than just read about it. In short: Laurasiatheria (; "Laurasian beasts") is a superorder of placental mammals that groups together true insectivores (eulipotyphlans), bats (chiropterans), carnivorans, pangolins (pholidotes), even-toed ungulates (artiodactyls), odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls), and all their extinct relatives (pan-euungulates). From systematics and phylogenetic perspectives, it is subdivided into order Eulipotyphla and clade Scroti…

Key takeaways

Laurasiatheria belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Laurasiatheria to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Laurasiatheria from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Laurasiatheria (; "Laurasian beasts") is a superorder of placental mammals that groups together true insectivores (eulipotyphlans), bats (chiropterans), carnivorans, pangolins (pholidotes), even-toed ungulates (artiodactyls), odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls), and all their extinct relatives (pan-euungulates). From systematics and phylogenetic perspectives, it is subdivided into order Eulipotyphla and clade Scrotifera. It is a sister group to Euarchontoglires with which it forms the magnorder Boreoeutheria. Laurasiatheria was discovered on the basis of the similar gene sequences shared by the mammals belonging to it; no anatomical features have yet been found that unite the group, although a few have been suggested such as a small coracoid process, a simplified hindgut (reversed in artiodactyls), high intelligence, lack of grasping hands (though mimicry of grasping is observed in felines) and allantoic vessels that are large to moderate in size. The Laurasiatheria clade is based on DNA sequence analyses and retrotransposon presence/absence data. The superorder originated on the northern supercontinent of Laurasia, after it split from Gondwana when Pangaea broke up. Its most recent common ancestor is supposed to have lived between ca. 76 to 90 million years ago.

Etymology The name of this superorder derives from its origin on the supercontinent of Laurasia. In contrast, extinct primitive mammals called Gondwanatheria existed in the supercontinent of Gondwana.

Classification and phylogeny

History of phylogeny

Uncertainty still exists regarding the phylogenetic tree for extant laurasiatherians, primarily due to disagreement about the placement of orders Chiroptera (bats) and Perissodactyla. Based on morphological grounds, bats had long been classified in the superorder Archonta (e.g. along with primates, treeshrews and the gliding colugos) until genetic research instead showed their kinship with the other laurasiatheres. The studies conflicted in terms of the exact placement of Chiroptera, however, with it being linked most closely to groups such as order Eulipotyphla in the clade Insectiphillia. Two 2013 studies retrieve that bats, pangolins, carnivorans and euungulates form a clade Scrotifera, indicating that Eulipotyphla might be the sister group to all other Laurasiatheria taxa.

Taxonomy

Phylogeny The phylogenetic relationships of superorder Laurasiatheria are shown in the following cladogram, reconstructed from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA and protein characters, as well as the fossil record.

See also Mammal classification Boreoeutheria Gondwanatheria – a clade of mammaliaforms named after supercontinent of Gondwana

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Laurasiatheria

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Laurasiatheria claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Laurasiatheria before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Laurasiatheria ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Laurasiatheria

In research: Laurasiatheria appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Laurasiatheria in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Laurasiatheria is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Extant Paleocene first appearances, Laurasiatheria, Mammal superorders, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Laurasiatheria outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Laurasiatheria in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Laurasiatheria means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Laurasiatheria out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Laurasiatheria in simple terms?

Why does Laurasiatheria matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Laurasiatheria?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Laurasiatheria.