| Gualta cuyana Temporal range: Late Oligocene ~ | |
|---|---|
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| Tibiae of Gualta | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | † Notoungulata |
| Family: | † Leontiniidae |
| Genus: | † Gualta Cerdeño and Vera, 2015 |
| Species: | †G. cuyana |
| Binomial name | |
| †Gualta cuyana Cerdeño & Vera, 2015 | |
Gualta is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Late Oligocene, in what is today South America. [1]
This genus is known from numerous fossil remains including an almost complete skull, several vertebrae, numerous maxillaries and mandibular fragments and postcranial elements from several different individuals, permitting to reconstruct its appearance. Gualta was an animal of considerable size with a heavy build, and it may have exceeded two meters in length. The skull was relatively tall, and Gualta was very similar to one of its relatives from the same period, Scarrittia . Like the latter, Gualta had the first upper incisor much more developed than the two others, and the canine that overlapped the first premolar. However, unlike Scarrittia, it had a more elongated snout, narrower and longer nasal bones ; its third and fourth premolars had a low lingual sulcus ; it had a shorter cervical vertebra, and an even shorter calcaneus without navicular facet. Unlike other leontiniids such as Leontinia , Ancylocoelus , Anayatherium or Colpodon , Gualta still had a complete dentition. [1]
Gualta cuyana was first described in 2015, based on fossil remains found in the Late Oligocene Quebrada Honda Formation, in the Mendoza Province of Argentina. The phylogenetic analysis proposed in the study of the first description indicates that Gualta was a Leontiniid, a group of heavy-formed Notoungulates, widespread in South America during the Oligocene. Gualta seems to be closely related to Anayatherium and Scarrittia, but may also be ancestral to other forms of leontiniids. [1]
The fossils of Gualta makes up a low percentage of the mammal diversity at Quebrada Honda, in contrast to other localities in Brazil and Patagonia, where leontiniids are among the most well represented families of notoungulates. [1]
Toxodonta or Toxodontia is a suborder of the meridiungulate order Notoungulata. Most of the members of the five included families, including the largest notoungulates, share several dental, auditory and tarsal specializations. The group is named after Toxodon, the first example of the group to be discovered by science.
Pyrotherium is an extinct genus of South American ungulate, of the order Pyrotheria, that lived in what is now Argentina and Bolivia, during the Late Oligocene. It was named Pyrotherium because the first specimens were excavated from an ancient volcanic ash deposit. Fossils of the genus have been found in the Sarmiento Formation of Argentina and the Salla Formation of Bolivia.
Leontiniidae is an extinct family comprising eighteen genera of notoungulate mammals known from the Middle Eocene (Mustersan) to Late Miocene (Huayquerian) of South America.
The Malargüe Group is a group of geologic formations of the Neuquén Basin of the Mendoza, Neuquén, Río Negro and La Pampa Provinces in northern Patagonia, Argentina. The formations of the Malargüe Group range in age between the middle Campanian to Deseadan, an Oligocene age of the SALMA classification, straddling the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, about 79 million to 30 million years in age. The group overlies the older Neuquén Group, separated by an unconformity dated to 79 Ma. The rocks of the Malargüe Group comprise both marine and continental deposits which are over 400 m (1312 ft) thick in total.
Huilatherium is an extinct genus of leontiniid, a group of hoofed mammals belonging to the order Notoungulata, that comprises other South American ungulate families that evolved in parallel with some mammals of the Northern hemisphere. The leontiinids were a family of herbivorous species comprising medium to large browsers, with relatively short skulls and robust limbs, somewhat similar to their relatives, the best known toxodontids.
Ethegotherium is an extinct genus of Notoungulates, belonging to the suborder Typotheria. It lived from the Lower to the Middle Miocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America. It might be a synonym of the genus Prohegetotherium.
Pseudhyrax is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the suborder Typotheria. It lived from the Late Eocene to the Early Oligocene, and its remains were discovered in South America.
Eomorphippus is an extinct genus of notoungulate, belonging to the suborder Toxodonta. It lived from the Late Eocene to the Early Oligocene in what is today South America.
Morphippus is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the suborder Toxodonta. It lived from the Middle to the Late Oligocene in what is today South America.
Anayatherium is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Late Oligocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America.
Ancylocoelus is an extinct genus of mammal, belonging to the order Notoungulata. It lived during the Late Oligocene, in what is today Argentina, in South America.
Colpodon is an extinct genus of herbivorous mammal, belonging to the order Notoungulata. It lived during the Early Miocene, in what is today Argentina and Chile, in South America.
Coquenia is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Middle Eocene, in what is today Argentina.
Elmerriggsia is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Late Oligocene in South America.
Martinmiguelia is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Middle Eocene, and its fossil remains were found in South America.
Taubatherium is an extinct genus of mammal, belonging to the order Notoungulata. It lived during the Late Oligocene, in what is today Brazil, in South America.
Termastherium is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Early Oligocene, and its fossilized remains were found in South America.
Argyrohyrax is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the suborder Typotheria. It lived during the Late Oligocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America.
Santiagorothia is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the suborder Typotheria. It lived during the Early Oligocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America.
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.
