Kuehneotherium praecursoris, classed as the most primitive therian mammal known, by contrast, could only manage 'soft' insects such as moths.
For example: the term Metatheria (the name for the clade of marsupial mammals) uses the prefix meta- merely in the sense that the Metatheria occur on the tree of life adjacent to the Theria (the placental mammals).
Infraclass Holotheria: modern live-bearing mammals and their prehistoric relatives
In taxonomy, the term refers to a member of the Mammalia subclass Theria, consisting of marsupial and placental mammals.
Theria |
Cladotheria is a group (legion) of mammals that is defined as including the ancestor of Dryolestoidea, Peramuridae and Zatheria (living Therians plus all of its descendants).
Both are conventionally united as infraclasses within the subclass Theria (Parker and Haswell, 1897), which contains all living mammals except monotremes.