Chiromyiformes
infraorder of mammals
Chiromyiformes is an infraorder of strepsirrhine primates that includes the aye-aye from Madagascar and its extinct relatives.
Classification
The aye-aye is sometimes classified as a member of Lemuriformes, but others treat Chiromyiformes as a separate infraorder, based on their very reduced dental formula. Gunnell et al. (2018) reclassified the putative bat Propotto as a close relative of the aye-aye, as well as assigning the problematic strepsirrhine primate Plesiopithecus to Chiromyiformes.
Evolution
The molecular clock puts the divergence of Chiromyiformes and Lemuriformes at 50-49 million years ago.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Chiromyiformes” is infraorder of mammals. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Chiromyiformes, infraorder and mammals, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “infraorder of mammals” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 1, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q3183897. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2018.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Chiromyiformes”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Chiromyiformes primary sources, Chiromyiformes archive and Chiromyiformes research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Chiromyiformes”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Chiromyiformes” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.