| Ornithorhynchoids Temporal range:
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| Two extant ornithorhynchoids: the short-beaked echidna (above) and platypus (below) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Monotremata |
| Superfamily: | Ornithorhynchoidea Flannery et al., 2024 |
| Families | |
Ornithorhynchoidea is a superfamily of mammals containing the only living monotremes, the platypus and the echidnas, as well as their closest fossil relatives, to the exclusion of more primitive fossil monotremes of uncertain affinity.[1]
The clade was defined in 2024 following the discovery of some fossil monotremes from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)-aged Griman Creek Formation of Lightning Ridge Australia, which appeared to be more closely related to extant monotremes than to co-occurring early monotremes such as Steropodon and Kollikodon.[1][2]
- ^ a b Flannery, Timothy F.; McCurry, Matthew R.; Rich, Thomas H.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Smith, Elizabeth T.; Helgen, Kristofer M. (2024-05-26). "A diverse assemblage of monotremes (Monotremata) from the Cenomanian Lightning Ridge fauna of New South Wales, Australia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 48 (2): 319–337. Bibcode:2024Alch...48..319F. doi:10.1080/03115518.2024.2348753. ISSN 0311-5518.
- ^ de Kruijff, Peter (2024-05-26). "'Echidnapus' fossil of potential echidna and platypus ancestor may point to Australian 'age of monotremes'". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2024-05-27. Retrieved 2024-05-27.