Australosphenida

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

iAustralosphenida Fossil range: Early Cretaceous - Recent
Short-beaked Echidna
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Subclass: Australosphenida

The Australosphenida are a sub-class of mammals which has nearly entirely died out. Today, living specimen exist only in Australia and New Guinea with only five surviving species, but fossils have been found in Madagascar and Argentina. The surviving species consist of the platypus, and 4 species of echidnas.

This sub-class includes the following animals:

• Monotremata, divided into suborders Ornithorhynchidae (Platypus) and Tachyglossidae (echidnas)
• Ausktribosphenida†

'†' denotes an extinct species.