Soricomorpha

order of mammals

The Soricomorpha ("shrew-form") was a proposed biological group in the class of mammals.[1] It includes all the shrews, solenodons and moles. It is divided into four families, one extinct. The other three families are the shrews, solenodons and moles. This followed the discovery, from sequence analysis, that the old order Insectivora was polyphyletic. That meant it was not a single clade.

Soricomorpha
Southern short-tailed shrew
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Infraclass:
Superorder:
Order:
Suborder:
Soricomorpha

The proposal was discarded when it was discovered that a larger grouping was monophyletic, and formed an natural clade of insectivores. That is the new order Eulipotyphla.


  • ORDER SORICOMORPHA
    • Family Soricidae
      • Subfamily Crocidurinae: white-toothed shrews
      • Subfamily Soricinae: red-toothed shrews
      • Subfamily Myosoricinae: African white-toothed shrews
    • Family Talpidae: moles
      • Subfamily Scalopinae
      • Subfamily Talpinae
      • Subfamily Uropsilinae
    • Family Solenodontidae: solenodons
    • Family †Nesophontidae: West Indian shrews

References