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Leontiniidae
Leontiniidae is an extinct family comprising eighteen genera of notoungulate mammals known from the Middle Eocene (Mustersan) to Late Miocene (Huayquerian) of South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou .... References Further reading * M. V. Deraco, J. E. Powell, and G. Lopez. 2008. Primer leontínido (Mammalia, Notoungulata) de la Formación Lumbrera (Subgrupo Santa Bárbara, Grupo Salta-Paleógeno) del noroeste argentino. ''Ameghiniana'' 45(1):83–91 * McKenna, Malcolm C., and Bell, Susan K. 1997. ''Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level.'' Columbia University Press, New York, 631 pp. * B. J. Shockey, J. J. Flynn, D. A. Croft, P. Gans, and A. R. Wyss. 2012. New leontiniid Notoungulata (Mammalia) from Chile and Argentina: comparative anato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colpodon
''Colpodon'' is an extinct genus of herbivorous mammal, belonging to the order Notoungulata. It lived during the Early Miocene, in what is today Argentina and Chile, in South America. Description This animal is almost exclusively known from cranial remains, and its general appearance is globally unknown. From a comparison with some of its better known relatives, like ''Scarrittia'' and ''Huilatherium'', it can be supposed that ''Colpodon'' was a relatively heavy-shaped animal, with a stature comparable to that of a sheep. Its skull was rather short and tall, with a characteristic set of teeth, differing from most of its close relatives, the Leontiniidae. The upper canines were completely absent, and the incisors were well-developed bu lacking labial girdles. Classification ''Colpodon'' was one of the first notoungulates ever discovered. It was first described in 1885 by Hermann Burmeister, who described the genus based on two upper and two lower molars found near the mouth of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huilatherium
''Huilatherium'' is an extinct genus of leontiniid, a group of hoofed mammals belonging to the order Notoungulata, that comprises other South American ungulate families that evolved in parallel with some mammals of the Northern hemisphere. The leontiinids were a family of herbivorous species comprising medium to large browsers, with relatively short skulls and robust limbs, somewhat similar to their relatives, the best known toxodontids. Etymology The name ''Huilatherium'' means "Beast from Huila". Description ''Huilatherium'' was discovered in Colombia, at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta in the Honda Group of Huila. So far, only a single species is known, ''H. pluriplicatum''. This species was initially described based in a left maxillary deciduous teeth of a juvenile, which was reported by Jane Colwell in 1965 as a possible leontiinid, to which she applied the scientific name of ''Laventatherium hylei'' ("beast of La Venta"), but since she made her description ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taubatherium
''Taubatherium'' is an extinct genus of mammal, belonging to the order Notoungulata. It lived during the Late Oligocene, in what is today Brazil, in South America. Description Fossils of this animal indicates that it had a fairly robust build, but not as heavy as some of its relatives, '' Leontinia'' and ''Scarrittia''. The robust body was supported by four relatively slender but strong limbs ; the dimensions of ''Taubatherium'' were typical of its family, as it was approximately 1.80 meters long and 80 centimeters high at the withers. It weighed between 280 and 350 kilograms, and its body mass would be equivalent to that of a modern horse. Classification ''Taubatherium'' was first described in 1983 by Carlos de Paula Couto, based on cranial and postcranial fragmentary remains found in the Tremembé Formation, near Taubaté, in Brazil. Paula Couto believed that the fossils belonged to the already existing genus ''Leontinia'', and described the remains as ''Leontinia'' cf. ''gau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Notoungulata
Notoungulata is an extinct order of mammalian ungulates that inhabited South America from the early Paleocene to the Holocene, living from approximately 61 million to 11,000 years ago. Notoungulates were morphologically diverse, with forms resembling animals as disparate as rabbits and rhinoceroses. Notoungulata are the largest group of South American native ungulates, with over 150 genera in 14 families having been described, divided into two major subgroupings, Typotheria and Toxodontia. Notoungulates first diversified during the Eocene. Their diversity declined during the Late Neogene, with only the large toxodontids persisting until the end of the Pleistocene. Collagen analysis suggests that notoungulates are closely related to litopterns, another group of South American ungulates, and their closest living relatives being perissodactyls (odd-toed ungulates), including rhinoceroses, tapirs and equines. but their relationships to other South American ungulates are uncertain. Se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancylocoelus
''Ancylocoelus'' is an extinct genus of mammal, belonging to the order Notoungulata. It lived during the Late Oligocene, in what is today Argentina, in South America. Description This genus is only known from cranial remains, but comparison with some of its better-known relatives such as '' Leontinia'' indicates that it was an heavily shaped animal, vaguely similar to an hornless, smaller and slender rhinoceros. The skull was short and tall, with low-crowned (brachydont) premolars and molars. ''Ancylocoelus'' was approximately 1.70 meters long and 70 centimeters high at the withers. Compared to other, more basal forms, ''Ancylocoelus'' lacked both its upper and lower canines, and its first lower premolar. Classification ''Ancylocoelus'' was first described in 1894 by Florentino Ameghino, based on fossil remains found in Argentina. The type species is ''Ancylocoelus frequens''. A few years later Ameghino described two other species, ''A. lentus'' and ''A. minor''. ''Ancylocoelu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coquenia
''Coquenia'' is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Middle Eocene, in what is today Argentina. Description Known only from skull and mandible remains, ''Coquenia'' may have been a heavily built animal, about the size of a sheep. This animal dentition was low-crowned (brachydont), and the incisors resembled canines, with labial and lingual cingulum. The second upper incisor was more developed than the two others, a typical characteristic of the Leontiniidae, while the upper canines had a rotated crown, with labial and lingual cingulum. The four premolars had an anterolingual cingulum with a small basin located directly in front of the protocone. The premolars progressively increased in size towards the back of the jaw. The upper molars had a labial cingulum, and a posterior dimple, like the lower molars. The third upper molar was wider at the base of its lingual side. Classification ''Coquenia'' is a basal member of the fam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toxodonts
Toxodontia. Retrieved April 2013. is a suborder of the meridiungulate order Notoungulata. Most of the members of the five included families, including the largest notoungulates, share several dental, auditory and tarsal specializations. The group is named after ''Toxodon'', the first example of the group to be discovered by science. Description Isotemnidae, the oldest and most primitive family of toxodonts, were generally large animals with larger canines than other early notoungulates. The family is probably paraphyletic or polyphyletic since only primitive dental features unite the 12 included genera, such as a complete dentition with unreduced canines and no diastemata in the earliest genera. Likewise, they are only weakly linked to other toxodonts by a few dental features, and their primitive cheek tooth pattern can be basal to all notoungulates except notioprogonians. The oldest of the 12 genera in this family is ''Isotemnus'' known from the Riochican-Casamayoran, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martinmiguelia
''Martinmiguelia'' is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Middle Eocene, and its fossil remains were found in South America. Description This animal is only known from skull and mandible remains, and it probably shared similarities with later and better known leontiniids, such as ''Scarrittia''. It was smaller-sized than those derived genera, approximately the size of a sheep. ''Martinmiguelia'' was characterized by an archaic dental formula, with a complete dentition (three incisors, one canine, four premolars and three molars) and a quasi-absence of diastema, except for small spaces around the small-sized canines. The molars and premolars were low-crowned (brachydont), a primitive condition for leontinnids. The upper incisors were canine-like and possessed labial girdles, and the second upper incisor was larger than the others. Classification ''Martinmiguelia fernandezi'' was first described in 1995, based on fossils fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anayatherium
''Anayatherium'' is an extinct genus of notoungulate belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Late Oligocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America. Description It was a large-sized and heavy-shaped animal, that could reach the size of a cow. It may have reached a length of 2.5 meters ; its skull was 45 centimeters long, and its weight may have exceeded 350 kilograms. ''Anayatherium'' was characterized by a very short muzzle, compared to other leontiniids. The shortening of the muzzle was reflected in the dentition by the loss of one of the upper teeth, probably a canine. The first upper incisor was larger than the second, as in ''Scarrittia'', while the third and fourth premolars had vertical lingual grooves, as in ''Leontinia''. The second upper incisor was of a typical shape, unlike ''Leontinia'' in which it had instead the shape of a canine ; in ''Anayatherium'', the first incisor took the place of the canine. Unlike ''Scarrittia'', the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scarrittia
''Scarrittia'' is an extinct genus of hoofed mammal of the family Leontiniidae, native to South America during the Oligocene, Late Oligocene epoch (Deseadan in the South American land mammal age, SALMA classification). Description ''Scarrittia'' was about in body length, and resembled a rhinoceros with a relatively long body and neck. It had three hoofed toes on each foot, and a very short tail. Due to a fused tibia and fibula, ''Scarrittia'' would have been unable to turn its legs sideways. The short skull had 44 poorly specialized teeth. Natural history This was a very successful genus with various known species, such as ''Scarrittia robusta'', ''S. barranquensis'' and ''S. canquelensis'', which lived around 30 million years ago. They lived in moist forest, near the coast, in wetlands, lakes, swamps, etc. and they ate soft vegetation, grasses, fruits and trees. Some species were omnivorous, eating also eggs and small mammals. They were not adapted for running, though the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elmerriggsia
''Elmerriggsia'' is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Late Oligocene in South America. Description This animal, like all leontiniids, had a fairly robust body and strong legs. Unlike most of its relatives, however, ''Elmerriggsia'' was less than 1,5 meters long. ''Elmerriggsia'' had the V-shaped skull when viewed from above, the canine-shaped upper incisors (as well as the third lower incisor), and the mesodont typed dentition characteristic of all leontiniids. The skull of ''Elmerriggsia'' was characterized by the presence of premolars with a grooved protocone, without an intermediate lingual cingulum, and by a well developed labial cingulum on the lower molars. These dental features distinguished ''Elmerriggsia'' from any other leontiniids. Classification ''Elmerriggsia fieldia'' was first described in 2012, based on fossil remains found near Pico Truncado in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina, in terrains dated f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gualta Cuyana
''Gualta'' is an extinct genus of leontiniid notoungulates. It lived during the Late Oligocene of what is now Argentina. Description This genus is known from numerous fossil remains including an almost complete skull, several vertebrae, numerous maxillaries and mandibular fragments and postcranial elements from several different individuals, permitting to reconstruct its appearance. ''Gualta'' was an animal of considerable size with a heavy build, and it may have exceeded two meters in length. The skull was relatively tall, and ''Gualta'' was very similar to one of its relatives from the same period, ''Scarrittia''. Like the latter, ''Gualta'' had the first upper incisor much more developed than the two others, and the canine that overlapped the first premolar. However, unlike ''Scarrittia'', it had a more elongated snout, narrower and longer nasal bones ; its third and fourth premolars had a low lingual sulcus ; it had a shorter cervical vertebra, and an even shorter calcaneus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
