Australosphenida

This grouping includes the following taxa: • †Henosferidae, including the genera Ambondro, Asfaltomylos, and Henosferus from the Jurassic of Argentina and Madagascar. • †Ausktribosphenidae known from the Early Cretaceous of Australia • †Bishopidae including Bishops from the Lower Cretaceous of Australia and an unnamed genus from the Mid-Cretaceous of Argentina (the latter of which was originally attributed to Ausktribosphenidae). • †?Tendagurutherium, recovered as an australosphenidan in one study. Cladogram after Luo et al. 2001: }} }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} According to Luo et al., tribosphenic molars were evolved by the Australosphenida independently of the true Tribosphenida, or Boreosphenida (that is, the therians and their relatives) in the northern continents. Others contend that the ausktribosphenids (two families of the Australian Cretaceous tribosphenids) in fact belong to the placentals and were therefore true tribosphenids, but unrelated to the ancestry of the monotremes. Most recent phylogenetic studies lump henosferids and aukstribosphenids alongside monotremes. However, a 2022 review of monotreme evolution noted that the most primitive monotreme Teinolophos differed substantially from other non-monotreme Australosphenidans, having five molars as opposed to three in all other non-monotreme australosphenidans, and having non-tribosphenic molars, meaning that monotremes and non-monotreme australosphenidans were likely unrelated. ==Notes==