The
order Afrosoricida was first proposed by Stanhope et al in 1998,
following several molecular studies that placed golden moles and tenrecs
together to the exclusion of the other families of Insectivora. One such
study was that of Springer et al in 1997, in which the DNA sequences
of three mitochondrial genes and two nuclear genes were analysed across
the orders of placental mammals. Tenrecs were not represented in the study,
but golden moles were and all the gene data suggested that golden moles
were more closely related to other African insectivorous mammals rather
than to other families of Insectivora. These other African mammals include
hyraxes, manatees, elephants, elephant shrews and aardvarks.
Drawing
on the work of Springer et al, Stanhope et al (1998) found
congruence for the suggested African clade by analysing further sequence
data. Tenrecs were also included in the research, and not only did the tenrec
associate with the African clade more readily then with Insectivora, but
also formed a particularly strong association with golden moles within the
African clade. Therefore, Stanhope et al proposed two new taxonomic
names to incorporate these findings. The superordinal clade of African insectivorous
mammals was termed Afrotheria, and the close grouping of tenrecs and golden
moles was recognised with ordinal status (Afrosoricida), within Afrotheria.
Since
that time, virtually all molecular research has supported Afrotheria
and Afrosoricida, and it is unlikely that the traditional six families of
Insectivora will again be associated together, on the basis of molecular
data. As an alternative to Insectivora, in light of tenrecs and golden moles
being removed from the order, the remaining four families of Insectivora
are often referred to as the order Eulipotyphla.