''Pternoconius'' is an extinct

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of macraucheniid

litoptern Litopterna (from "smooth heel") is an extinct order of South American native ungulates that lived from the Paleocene to the Pleistocene-Holocene around 62.5 million to 12,000 years ago (or possibly as late as 3,500 years ago), and were also pres ...

from the

Late Oligocene The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale The geologic time scale or geological time scale (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the pro ...

and

Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Fossils of this genus have been found in the

Sarmiento Formation The Sarmiento Formation (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Formación Sarmiento''), in older literature described as the Casamayor Formation, is a geological formation in Chubut Province, Argentina, in central Patagonia, which spans around 30 million y ...

of Argentina.

Etymology

The genus name, ''Pternoconius'', is a near-anagram of the closely related genus ''

Coniopternium ''Coniopternium'' is an extinct genus of macraucheniids from the Late Oligocene of South America. Fossils of ''Coniopternium'' have been found in the Agua de la Piedra, Deseado, and Sarmiento Formations of Argentina, the Salla Formation of Bol ...

''. The species name refers to the similarity of the

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

genus '' Polymorphis''.

Species

''Pternoconius tournoueri''

In 1985, fossils found in the Early Miocene Colhué Huapí Member of the Sarmiento Formation were assigned to the genus under the name ''Pternoconius tournoueri'', consisting of a nearly complete hemimandible.

''Pternoconius bondi''

In 2016 a new species of macraucheniid litoptern was described coming from the Bajada del Diablo locality in the Sarmiento Formation, consisting of the anterior portion of the skull with the maxillary region, some fragments of nasal bones, a small portion of the left zygomatic process, and most of the upper dentition (i.e., left P2–M3, right C, and right P1–M3). The species was named after Mariano Bond, in recognition of his contributions to the knowledge of South American native ungulates.

Classification

''Pternoconius'' is a member of the subfamily Cramaucheniinae within the family

Macraucheniidae Macraucheniidae is a family in the extinct South American ungulate order Litopterna, that resembled camelids. They had three functional digits on the fore and hind feet, as well as elongate necks. The family is generally divided up into two sub ...

. Phylogenetic analyses of the family in 2014 and 2018 found that Cramaucheniinae is a paraphyletic group and that ''Theosodon'' is a sister clade to the subfamily Macraucheniinae, the least primitive members of the family. The results of McGrath ''et al''. 2018 are shown below.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q113004357 Macraucheniids Miocene mammals of South America Oligocene mammals of South America Colhuehuapian Deseadan Neogene Argentina Paleogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Fossil taxa described in 1983 Prehistoric placental genera Golfo San Jorge Basin Sarmiento Formation