''Brachytherium'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of proterotheriid mammal from the

Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...

to Late Pliocene 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 second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It is represented by the type and only species ''B. cuspidatum'', a taxon named in 1883 by Ameghino for a partial mandible with teeth. Though it was considered a dubious taxon at times, ''Brachytherium'' was revised as valid by Schmidt in 2015, who also synonymized the species ''

Proterotherium ''Proterotherium'' (meaning "first beast") is an extinct genus of litoptern mammal of the family Proterotheriidae that lived during the Late Miocene of Argentina and Chile. Fossils of this genus have been found in the Ituzaingó Formation of Arge ...

gradatum'' and ''Lophogonodon paranensis'', expanding the material known, all of which is from the

Ituzaingó Formation The Ituzaingó Formation ( es, Formación Ituzaingó), in older literature also described as Entre Ríos or Entrerriana Formation, is an extensive geological formation of Late Miocene (Tortonian, or Huayquerian in the SALMA classification) age in ...

. Some material previously referred to ''Brachytherium'' has been given the new name ''

Neobrachytherium ''Neobrachytherium'' is an extinct genus of proterotheriid mammal from the Late Miocene of Argentina and Uruguay. It is represented by multiple species, including the type ''N. intermedium'', originally named in 1891 by Moreno and Mercerat as a ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q111828098 Proterotheriids Miocene mammals of South America Pliocene mammals of South America Neogene Argentina Chasicoan Huayquerian Montehermosan Chapadmalalan Fossils of Argentina Fossil taxa described in 1883 Taxa named by Florentino Ameghino Prehistoric placental genera Ituzaingó Formation