Scrotifera

Scrotifera ("beasts with scrotum") is a clade of placental mammals that groups together order Chiroptera and grandorder Ferungulata, and their common ancestors. The clade Scrotifera is a sister group to the order Eulipotyphla (true insectivores) based on evidence from molecular phylogenetics, and together they make superorder Laurasiatheria. The last common ancestor of Scrotifera is supposed to have diversified ca. 73.1 to 85.5 million years ago.

Etymology
Peter Waddell, then of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics, explains the etymology of the clade's name as follows: "The name comes from the word scrotum, a pouch in which the testes permanently reside in the adult male. All members of the group have a postpenile scrotum, often prominently displayed, except for some aquatic forms and pangolin (which has the testes just below the skin). It appears to be an ancestral character for this group, yet other orders generally lack this as an ancestral feature, with the probable exception of Primates."

Phylogeny
In year 2006 clade Pegasoferae (a clade of mammals that includes orders Chiroptera, Carnivora, Perissodactyla and Pholidota) was proposed as part of clade Scrotifera and sister group to the order Artiodactyla, based on genomic research in molecular systematics. The monophyly of the group is not well supported, and recent studies have indicated that this clade is not a natural grouping.