''Pampatemnus'' 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

Isotemnidae Isotemnidae is an extinct Family (biology), family of Notoungulata, notoungulate mammals known from the Paleocene (Las Flores Formation, Golfo San Jorge Basin, Las Flores Formation, Itaboraian) to Middle Miocene (Honda Group, Colombia, Honda Grou ...

that lived during the Early to Middle

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'', " ...

of what is now

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 ...

Etymology

The genus name, ''Pampatemnus'', is composed of the prefix ''Pampa-'', the

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

word for "

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

", and the suffix ''-temnus'', from the

greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word ''Τεμγυς'', meaning "groove", a suffix commonly used by

Florentino Ameghino Florentino Ameghino (born Giovanni Battista Fiorino Giuseppe Ameghino September 19, 1853 – August 6, 1911) was an Argentine naturalist, paleontologist, anthropologist and zoologist, whose fossil discoveries on the Argentine Pampas, especially ...

to name genera of

Description

''Pampatemnus'' was discovered in outcrops of the Lumbrera Formation, an

geological formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...

located in the

Guachipas Department Guachipas is a department located in Salta Province, Argentina. With an area of it borders to the north and northeast with Metán Department, to the east with the Departments of La Candelaria and Rosario de la Frontera, to the south with Cafaya ...

of the Salta Province. Two species attributed to the genus have been described : ''Pampatemnus infernalis'' and ''Pampatemnus deuterus''. The species name ''infernalis'' was given to honor the

Legion Infernal Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 17 ...

, a

gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

who took an important role in the

Spanish American wars of independence The Spanish American wars of independence (25 September 1808 – 29 September 1833; es, Guerras de independencia hispanoamericanas) were numerous wars in Spanish America with the aim of political independence from Spanish rule during the early ...

, while the name ''deuterus'' refers to the two species discovery order.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q106999485 Toxodonts Eocene mammals of South America Paleogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Fossil taxa described in 1982 Prehistoric placental genera