Pholidotamorpha

Pholidotamorpha ("pangolin-like forms") is a clade of placental mammals from mirorder Ferae that includes the order Pholidota (the pangolins) and extinct order Palaeanodonta.

History of taxonomy
In the past both orders, Pholidota and Palaeanodonta, were formerly classified with various other orders of ant-eating mammals, most notably Xenarthra (armadillos, sloths and true anteaters) which they superficially resemble. Some palaeontologists in past placed pangolins and palaeanodonts as a suborder "Pholidota" in order Cimolesta, alongside the extinct family Ernanodontidae as a separate suborder Ernanodonta near it, though this idea has fallen out of favor since it was determined that cimolestids were not placental mammals.

However, newer genetic evidence indicates the closest living relatives to order Pholidota are the members of order Carnivora, and together they form the mirorder Ferae. In 2009, pangolins and palaeanodonts were together placed within clade Pholidotamorpha. A 2012 study from new remains found in Late Paleocene Mongolian strata have led to the assessment that extinct genus Ernanodon is closely related to extinct genus Metacheiromys and being a member of the extinct order Palaeanodonta.

Classification

 * Clade: Pholidotamorpha (Gaudin, 2009)
 * Order: Pholidota (Weber, 1904) (pangolins)
 * Suborder: Eupholidota (Gaudin, 2009) (true pangolins)
 * Family: †Eurotamanduidae (Szalay & Schrenk, 1994)
 * Genus: †Euromanis (Gaudin, 2009)
 * Incertae sedis
 * †Pholidota sp. [BC 16’08] (Pickford, 2008)
 * Order: †Palaeanodonta (Matthew, 1918) (stem-pangolins)
 * Family: †Epoicotheriidae (paraphyletic family) (Simpson, 1927)
 * Family: †Ernanodontidae (Ding, 1979)
 * Family: †Escavadodontidae (Rose & Lucas, 2000)
 * Family: †Metacheiromyidae (paraphyletic family) (Wortman, 1903)
 * Incertae sedis:
 * Genus: †Arcticanodon (Rose, 2004)
 * Genus: †Melaniella (Fox, 1984)

Phylogeny
The phylogenetic relationships of clade Pholidotamorpha are shown in the following cladogram: