Classification
Domain- Eukaryote
kingdom- Animalia
phylum- Chordata
class- Mammalia
order- Carnivora
Suborder- Feliformia
family- Barbourofelidae
genus- Barbourofelis
species- ficki
Barbourofelis fricki are in the eukaryotic domain because they
have true nuclei. They are in the animalia kingdom because they
are predators that obtain energy by eating other organisms. They
are in the phylum chordata because they are deuterostomes with
bilateral symmetry and have nervous systems. They are in the
class mammalia because they are vertebrate animals that have
hair, mammary glands, mothers that feed their young milk, are
endothermic, and were young were given birth to. They are in the
order carnivora because they eat meat, but not all the species
in carnivora eat meat. They are in the family barbourofelidae
which are similar to cats yet had a “delayed eruption of the
deciduous upper canine tooth”. In 1970 they were given the
genus species name Barbourofelis fricki having the largest and
most specialized teeth of their group.
WHY
In this present day phylogeny Barbourofelis fricki, without any
genetic evidence, would be grouped with the major clade
Opistikonta. At some point in the life cycle of organisms in the
Opistikonta clades have or had posterior cilia and flat cristae.
There was a branch in the animals where they became
multicellular. The next evolutionary adaptation was true tissues
and from there animals like Barbourofelis fricki became
triploblastic with bilateral symmetry. Bilateral symmetry allows
for a more complex digestive system with a head, intestines, and
an anus. With a head came a more complex brain and nervous
system helping organisms to better sense and react to their
environment, this process is also called cephalization. The
branch deuterostome means that during the embryonic stage an
organism’s anus develops before its mouth. Chordates adapted to
have a notochord. In the chordate group are vertebrates with
modified integumentary systems, endoskeletons composed of bone
and/or cartilage, an increased metabolic demand because of their
closed circulatory system, and as I already mentioned a
well-developed brain. Barbourofelis fricki would fit into the
vertebrate group because of its features such as fur, teeth and
bones, head, intestines, and many of the adaptations above.
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Figure C1: This phylogeny shows the uncertainty of classification
that goes along with Barbourofelis.
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