''Ignigena'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

notoungulate 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 resemb ...

belonging to the family

Interatheriidae Interatheriidae is an extinct family of notoungulate mammals from South America. Interatheriids are known from the Middle Eocene (Mustersan) to the Early Pliocene (Montehermosan).McKenna & Bell, 1997Linares, 2004 These animals were principally ...

. The only known species of this genus is ''Ignigena minisculus''. The genus name means ''born from the fire'', referencing the volcanic deposits in which its fossils were found, while the type species name ''minisculus'' means "minuscule", referencing the small size of the animal. It was related to ''

Johnbell ''Johnbell'' is an extinct genus of ungulates, from the family Interatheriidae. The only known species belonging to the genus is ''Johnbell hatcheri''. This animal was named after the paleontologist John Bell Hatcher. This genus is related to ' ...

''. ''I. minisculus'' was a small animal with elongated teeth. Its fossilized remains were found in

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 east a ...

, in deposited dating to the Early

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

.Hitz, R.B., Flynn, J.J. & Wyss, A.R. 2006
New basal Interatheriidae (Typotheria, Notoungulata, Mammalia) from the Paleogene of central Chile
American Museum Novitates 3520:1-32.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1845622 Typotheres Eocene mammals of South America Paleogene Chile Fossils of Chile Fossil taxa described in 2006 Prehistoric placental genera