''Homalodotherium'' is an extinct genus of
notoungulate mammals native to South America. Fossils of ''Homalodotherium'' have been found in the
Middle Miocene
The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene.
The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma to 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma (million ...
(
Friasian The Friasian age is a period of geologic time (16.3–15.5 Ma) within the Early Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification of South America. It follows the Santacrucian and precedes the Colloncuran age.
...
in the
SALMA classification)
Santa Cruz Formation of
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
and the
Río Frías Formation
Río Frías Formation ( es, Formación Río Frías) is a Middle Miocene geologic formation made up sedimentary rock located in Aysén Region, western Patagonia. The formation crops out along the upper couse of Cisnes River ( es, Río Cisnes).Mars ...
of
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...
.
[''Homalodotherium'']
at Fossilworks
Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world.
History
Fossilworks was crea ...
.org
Description
''Homalodotherium'' was about in body length, with a weight up to , and had long forelimbs with
claw
A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...
s instead of hooves otherwise seen in related taxa. It walked on the soles of its hind feet and the toes of its front feet, which would have made the animal higher at the shoulder than at the hips when it walked on all fours. It was probably at least partially bipedal, being able to pull down tree branches with its arms while rearing up on its hind legs.
Various other prehistoric and living creatures have also developed this anatomical design and feeding style; examples are the
chalicothere
Chalicotheres (from Greek '' chalix'', "gravel" and '' therion'', "beast") are an extinct clade of herbivorous, odd-toed ungulate (perissodactyl) mammals that lived in North America, Eurasia, and Africa from the Middle Eocene until the Early Ple ...
s,
ground sloth
Ground sloths are a diverse group of extinct sloths in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. The term is used to refer to all extinct sloths because of the large size of the earliest forms discovered, compared to existing tree sloths. The Caribb ...
s (which shared the same environments), the
giant panda
The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes u ...
, the
gorilla
Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...
and, possibly, the
therizinosaur
Therizinosaurs (once called segnosaurs) were large herbivorous theropod dinosaurs whose fossils have been found across the Early to Late Cretaceous deposits in Asia and North America. Various features of the forelimbs, skull and pelvis unite thes ...
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
s.
References
Further reading
* Scott, William B. 1928. Mammalia of the Santa Cruz beds. Astrapotheria. Reports of the Princeton University Expeditions to Patagonia, 1896–1899. 6 (4): 301-342
Toxodonts
Clawed herbivores
Burdigalian life
Langhian life
Miocene mammals of South America
Friasian
Neogene Argentina
Fossils of Argentina
Neogene Chile
Fossils of Chile
Fossil taxa described in 1870
Taxa named by Thomas Henry Huxley
Prehistoric placental genera
Austral or Magallanes Basin
Santa Cruz Formation
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