''Transpithecus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus of Notoungulates, belonging to the suborder

Typotheria Typotheria is a suborder of the extinct mammalian order Notoungulata and includes five families: Archaeopithecidae, Campanorcidae, Interatheriidae, Mesotheriidae, and Oldfieldthomasiidae. CifelliCifelli, Richard L. 1993. The phylogeny of the nat ...

. It lived during the Middle Eocene in what is today South America.

Description

This animal may have been vaguely similar to a marmot, and could reach approximately 50 centimeters in length. It shared several similarities with rodents, but wasn't closely related to them. ''Transpithecus'' was related to ''

Notopithecus ''Notopithecus'' is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the suborder Typotheria. It lived from the Middle to the Late Eocene and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America. Description This animal is known from numerous ...

'', but was differentiated from the latter genus by several characteristics of its teeth. Its upper molars were characterized by a quadrangular shape and an internal fold, separating a smaller anterior lobe from the posterior lobe, and had a small enamel relief in the middle of their crowns. The premolars and upper molars were devoid of mesial cingulum. There was also a small descending process on the maxilla, more or less at the height of the mesial margin of the second upper molar.

Classification

''Transpithecus obtentus'' was first described in 1901 by Florentino Ameghino, based on fossil remains found in Middle Eocene terrains from Argentina. Other fossils, initially described as different genera (''Antepithecus'', ''Acoelodus'', ''Patriarchippus'') were later attributed to the type species of ''Transpithecus''. ''Transpithecus'' is considered a member of

, a group of rodent-like notoungulate. ''Transpithecus'' was related to other basal typotheres, such as ''Notopithecus'' ; these two genera, historically considered basal members of 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 sm ...

, have recently been placed within their own clade, Notopithecidae, outside of that family.

Bibliography

*F. Ameghino. 1901. Notices préliminaires sur des ongulés nouveaux des terrains crétacés de Patagonie reliminary notes on new ungulates from the Cretaceous terrains of Patagonia Boletin de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Córdoba 16:349-429 *G. G. Simpson. 1967. The beginning of the age of mammals in South America. Part II. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 137:1-260 *B. Vera. 2012. Revisión del género Transpithecus Ameghino, 1901 (Notoungulata, Interatheriidae) del Eoceno medio de Patagonia, Argentina. Ameghiniana 49(1):60-74 *Vera B. 2013. Acoelodus connectus Ameghino, 1901, sinónimo de Transpithecus obtentus Ameghino, 1901, “Notopithecinae” del Eoceno de Patagonia. Ameghiniana. 50:535–540. Spanish. *B. Vera. 2016. Phylogenetic revision of the South American notopithecines (Mammalia: Notoungulata). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 14(6):461-480 {{Taxonbar, from=Q60978285 Typotheres Eocene mammals of South America Paleogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Fossil taxa described in 1901 Taxa named by Florentino Ameghino Prehistoric placental genera Golfo San Jorge Basin Sarmiento Formation