''Scarrittia'' 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 hoofed mammal of the family

Leontiniidae Leontiniidae is an extinct family comprising eighteen genera of notoungulate mammals known from the Middle Eocene (Mustersan) to Late Miocene (Huayquerian) of South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphe ...

, native to South America during the Late Oligocene epoch (

Deseadan The Deseadan ( es, Deseadense) age is a period of geologic time (29.0–21.0 Ma) within the Oligocene epoch of the Paleogene to the Early Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification of South America. It fo ...

in the SALMA classification).

Description

''Scarrittia'' was about in body length, and resembled a rhinoceros with a relatively long body and neck. It had three hoofed toes on each foot, and a very short tail. Due to a fused

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

and

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...

, ''Scarrittia'' would have been unable to turn its legs sideways. The short

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

had 44 poorly specialized

teeth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

Natural history

This was a very successful genus with various known species, such as ''Scarrittia robusta'', ''S. barranquensis'' and ''S. canquelensis'', which lived around 30 million years ago. They lived in moist forest, near the coast, in wetlands, lakes, swamps, etc. and they ate soft vegetation, grasses, fruits and trees. Some species were omnivorous, eating also eggs and small mammals. They were not adapted for running, though their large size meant they had few enemies.

Distribution

Fossils of ''Scarrittia'' have been found in:''Scarrittia''
at

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.org *

Sarmiento Formation The Sarmiento Formation (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 years from the mid- ...

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 ...

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Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q369014 Toxodonts Oligocene mammals of South America Deseadan Oligocene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Oligocene Uruguay Fossils of Uruguay Fossil taxa described in 1934 Taxa named by George Gaylord Simpson Prehistoric placental genera Golfo San Jorge Basin Paraná Basin Sarmiento Formation