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CondylarthCondylarthra is an order of Paleocene mammals. One of the most characteristic, it illustrates the evolutionary level of the Paleocene mammal fauna. When compared to today's mammals, condylarths are relatively unspecialized placental mammals. However, in comparison to their insectivorous ancestors, members of the Condylarthra show the first signs of specializing to become omnivores or even herbivores. Since larger land-bound herbivores were absent since the extinction of the dinosaurs, this shift in diet triggered the tremendous evolutionary radiation of the condylarths that we can observe throughout the Paleocene, resulting in the different groups of ungulates (or "hoofed mammals") that form the dominant herbivores in most Cenozoic animal communities on land, except on the island continent of Australia. Here, the term Ungulata refers to a subgroup of placental mammals that are descendants of a common ancestor, the most primitive condylarth. Among recent mammals, hyraxes, elephants, aardvarks, sea cows and whales are traditionally regarded as members of the Ungulata. Besides these, several extinct animals also belong to this group, especially the endemic South American orders of ungulates. Although many ungulates have hoofs, this feature does not define the Ungulata. Some condylarths indeed have small hoofs on their feet, but the most primitive forms are clawed. On the other hand, hoofs have also been independently acquired by groups that do not belong to the Ungulata, such as the extinct Pantodonta.
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