Isotemnidae | |
---|---|
Thomashuxleya | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | † Notoungulata |
Suborder: | † Toxodontia |
Family: | † Isotemnidae Ameghino 1897 |
Genera | |
† Anisotemnus |
Isotemnidae is an extinct family of notoungulate mammals known from the Paleocene (Las Flores Formation, Itaboraian) to Middle Miocene (Honda Group, Laventan) of South America. [1]
Notoungulata is an extinct order of ungulates that inhabited South America from the early Paleocene to the end of the Pleistocene, living from approximately 61 million to 11,000 years ago. Notoungulates were morphologically diverse, with forms resembling animals as disparate as rabbits and rhinoceroses. Notoungulata are the largest group of South American native ungulates, with over 150 genera in 14 families having been described, divided into two major subgroupings, Typotheria and Toxodontia. Notoungulates first diversified during the Eocene. Their diversity declined from the late Neogene onwards, with only the large toxodontids persisting until the end of the Pleistocene, perishing as part of the Late Pleistocene megafauna extinctions along with most other large mammals across the Americas. Collagen sequence analysis suggests that notoungulates are closely related to litopterns, another group of South American ungulates, and their closest living relatives being perissodactyls, including rhinoceroses, tapirs and equines as part of the clade Panperissodactyla. However their relationships to other South American ungulates are uncertain. Several groups of notoungulates separately evolved ever-growing cheek teeth.
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.
South American native ungulates, commonly abbreviated as SANUs, are extinct ungulate-like mammals of controversial affinities that were indigenous to South America prior to the Great American Biotic Interchange. They comprise five major groups conventionally ranked as orders—Astrapotheria, Litopterna, Notoungulata, Pyrotheria, and Xenungulata—as well as the primitive "condylarth" groups Didolodontidae and Kollpaniinae. It has been proposed that some or all of the members of this group form a clade, named Meridiungulata, though the relationships of South American ungulates remain largely unresolved. The two largest groups of South American ungulates, the notoungulates and the litopterns, were the only groups to persist beyond the mid Miocene. Only a few of the largest species of notoungulates and litopterns survived until the end-Pleistocene extinction event around 12,000 years ago where they became extinct with most other large mammals in the Americas, shortly after the first arrival of humans into the region.
Notostylopidae is an extinct family comprising five genera of notoungulate mammals known from the Late Paleocene (Riochican) to Early Oligocene (Tinguirirican) of Argentina, Brazil and Chile in South America
Leontiniidae is an extinct family comprising eighteen genera of notoungulate mammals known from the Middle Eocene (Mustersan) to Late Miocene (Huayquerian) of South America.
Homalodotheriidae is an extinct family comprising four genera of notoungulate mammals known from the Late Eocene (Tinguirirican) through Late Miocene (Chasicoan) of Argentina and Chile in South America.
Hegetotheriidae is an extinct family of notoungulate mammals known from the Oligocene through the Pliocene of South America.
Interatheriidae is an extinct family of notoungulate mammals from South America. Interatheriids are known from the Middle Eocene (Mustersan) to the Early Pleistocene (Uquian). These animals were principally small-sized, occupying a habitat like hares, marmots and viscachas. The majority were very small, like rodents.
Notohippidae is a paraphyletic extinct family of notoungulate mammals from South America. Notohippids are known from the Eocene and Oligocene epochs.
Toxodontidae is an extinct family of notoungulate mammals, known from the Oligocene to the Holocene of South America, with one genus, Mixotoxodon, also known from the Pleistocene of Central America and southern North America. Member of the family were medium to large-sized, ranging from around 350–400 kilograms (770–880 lb) in Nesodon to 1,000–1,200 kilograms (2,200–2,600 lb) in Toxodon, and had medium to high-crowned dentition, which in derived members of the group evolved into ever-growing cheek teeth. Isotopic analyses have led to the conclusion that Pleistocene members of the family were flexible mixed feeders.
Henricosborniidae is a family of extinct notoungulate mammals known from the Late Paleocene to Middle Eocene of Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil. The name honors U.S. paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn.
Archaeohyracidae is an extinct family of notoungulate mammals known from the Paleocene through the Oligocene of South America.
Mesotheriidae is an extinct family of notoungulate mammals known from the Oligocene through the Pleistocene of South America. Mesotheriids were small to medium-sized herbivorous mammals adapted for digging.
Campanorco is an extinct genus of notoungulate mammal from the Middle Eocene Lumbrera Formation, Argentina, South America and the only member of the family Campanorcidae. It contains only a single species, Campanorco inauguralis.
Mixotoxodon is an extinct genus of notoungulate of the family Toxodontidae inhabiting South America, Central America and parts of southern North America during the Pleistocene epoch, from 1,800,000—12,000 years ago.
Notioprogonia is a suborder of the extinct mammalian order Notoungulata and includes two families, Henricosborniidae and Notostylopidae.
Nesodon is a genus of Miocene mammal belonging to the extinct order Notoungulata which inhabited southern South America during the Late Oligocene to Miocene living from 29.0 to 16.3 Ma and existed for approximately 12.7 million years. It had a relatively large size, weighing up to 554 kg (1221 lbs) and reaching 1.5 m in height.
Fiandraia is an extinct monotypic genus of notoungulate that lived in Uruguay during the Oligocene and the Early Miocene. It was found in the Fray Bentos Formation, in rocks dated back from the Deseadan period.
Megadolodus is an extinct genus of proterotheriid litopterns.
Magdalenabradys is an extinct genus of mylodontid ground sloths that lived during the Middle Miocene and Early Pliocene of what is now Colombia and Venezuela. Fossils have been found in the Villavieja Formation of the Honda Group in Colombia, and the Codore and Urumaco Formations of Venezuela.