On the origin of Cetartiodactyla: Comparison of data on evolutionary morphology and Molecular biology

The data on phylogeny and early evolution of Cetartiodactyla are analyzed and a model for the initial stage of their history is proposed. It is shown that the roots of Cetartiodactyla go back to generalized Cretaceous terrestrial Eutheria, and a hypothetical basal group of Cetartiodactyla was probably ancestral to the orders Artiodactyla and Cetacea. The Artiodactyla-Cetacea divergence and adaptive radiation of Artiodactyla, which gave rise to the suborders Ruminantia, Tylopoda, and Suiformes, apparently occurred in the pre-Eocene time, earlier than 55 Ma. Molecular similarity between Hippopotamidae and Cetacea is evidence of common origin of Artiodactyla and Cetacea and adaptation to aquatic environment.