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Placental vs Afrotherian - What's the difference?

placental | afrotherian |

As adjectives the difference between placental and afrotherian

is that placental is of or pertaining to the placenta, or to the placentalia while afrotherian is (zoology) belonging or pertaining to the superorder afrotheria, which includes the elephants, aardvarks, golden moles, tenrecs, etc.

As nouns the difference between placental and afrotherian

is that placental is any animal that is a member of the placentalia while afrotherian is (zoology) a placental that belongs to the superorder afrotheria, such as an elephant, aardvark, golden mole, tenrec, etc.

placental

English

Adjective

(-)
  • Of or pertaining to the placenta, or to the Placentalia
  • Having a placenta
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • Any animal that is a member of the Placentalia
  • afrotherian

    English

    (Afrotheria)

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (zoology) Belonging or pertaining to the superorder Afrotheria, which includes the elephants, aardvarks, golden moles, tenrecs, etc.
  • * 2003 , Yumie Murata et al., "Afrotherian Phylogeny as Inferred from Complete Mitochondrial Genomes", Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution , volume 28, page 253:
  • Although the monophyly of Afrotheria is well supported by recent molecular studies, the interrelationships within afrotherian mammals remain unclarified.
  • * 2006 , Chris Beard, The Hunt for the Dawn Monkey , University of California Press, page 251:
  • 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.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (zoology) A placental that belongs to the superorder Afrotheria, such as an elephant, aardvark, golden mole, tenrec, etc.
  • * 2001 , Michael J. Novacek, "Mammalian Phylogeny: Genes and Supertrees", Current Biology , volume 11, page R573:
  • As their name implies, afrotherians putatively represent a radiation of placentals rooted in the African continent and nearby island of Madagascar.

    Synonyms

    * afrothere