{{Short description|Superfamily of carnivoran mammals}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Oligocene|Present}} | image = Musteloidea.jpg | image_caption = Left-right: spotted skunk, red panda, wolverine and raccoon; representing the families Mephitidae, Ailuridae, Mustelidae and Procyonidae. | display_parents = 4 | taxon = Musteloidea | authority = Fischer, 1817 | subdivision_ranks = Families | subdivision = * Ailuridae * Mephitidae * Mustelidae <small>(type)</small> * Procyonidae * '''Incertae sedis''' ** {{extinct}}''Peignictis'' }}
'''Musteloidea''' is a superfamily of carnivoran mammals united by shared characteristics of the skull and teeth. Musteloids are the sister group of pinnipeds, the group which includes seals and allies.<ref name=Hunt2005>{{cite journal |author1=Welsey-Hunt, G.D. |author2=Flynn, J.J. |name-list-style=amp | year = 2005 | title = Phylogeny of the Carnivora: basal relationships among the Carnivoramorphans, and assessment of the position of 'Miacoidea' relative to Carnivora | journal = Journal of Systematic Palaeontology | volume = 3 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–28 | doi = 10.1017/S1477201904001518|bibcode=2005JSPal...3....1W }}</ref>{{Clarify|reason=Allies?|date=May 2026}}
== Taxonomy == Musteloidea comprises the following families:
* Ailuridae, the red panda (and its extinct kin).
* Mephitidae, skunks and stink badgers.
* Mustelidae, the weasel (mustelid) family, including new- and old-world badgers, ferrets and polecats, fishers, grisons and ratels, martens and sables, minks, river and sea otters, stoats and ermines, tayras and wolverines.
* Procyonidae, raccoons and raccoon-like procyonids, including coatis, kinkajous, olingos, the olinguito, ringtails and cacomistles.
== Evolution == In North America, ursids (bears) and musteloids first appeared in the Chadronian{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} of the late Eocene, and in early-Oligocene Europe, immediately following the Grande Coupure extinction event.
The following cladogram is based on molecular phylogeny of six genes in Flynn (2005),<ref name="Flynn2005">{{Cite journal |author1=Flynn, J. J. |author2=Finarelli, J. A. |author3=Zehr, S. |author4=Hsu, J. |author5=Nedbal, M. A. |title=Molecular phylogeny of the Carnivora (Mammalia): Assessing the impact of increased sampling on resolving enigmatic relationships |doi=10.1080/10635150590923326 |journal=Systematic Biology |volume=54 |issue=2 |pages=317–37 |year=2005 |pmid=16012099|doi-access=free }}</ref> with the musteloids updated following the multigene analysis of Law et al. (2018).<ref name="Law-2018">{{Cite journal|last1=Law|first1=Chris J.|last2=Slater|first2=Graham J.|last3=Mehta|first3=Rita S.|date=2018-01-01|title=Lineage Diversity and Size Disparity in Musteloidea: Testing Patterns of Adaptive Radiation Using Molecular and Fossil-Based Methods|journal=Systematic Biology|language=en|volume=67|issue=1|pages=127–144|doi=10.1093/sysbio/syx047|pmid=28472434|issn=1063-5157|doi-access=free}}</ref>
{{clade | style=font-size:85%;line-height:85% |label1=Caniformia |1={{clade |1 =Canidae (dogs and other canines) 60px|African golden wolf |label2=Arctoidea |2={{clade |1=Ursidae (bears) 50px|American black bear |2={{clade |1=Pinnipedia (seals) 70px|Common seal <!--PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE THIS CLADOGRAM WITHOUT A SOURCE; cf. Law (2018) above--> |label2='''Musteloidea''' |sublabel2=("weasel" superfamily) |2={{clade |1=Mephitidae (skunks) 50px|Striped skunk |2=Ailuridae (red pandas) 60px|Red panda |3={{clade |1=Procyonidae (raccoons, coatis, kinkajous) 50px|Common raccoon |2=Mustelidae (weasels, otters, badgers) 60px|European polecat }} }} }} }} }} }}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Carnivora|C.}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q2670845}}
Category:Musteloidea Category:Mammal superfamilies Category:Extant Oligocene first appearances Category:Parvorders