 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2022) |
| Notohippidae Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skull of Eomorphippus bondi | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | † Notoungulata |
| Clade: | † Eutoxodontia |
| Family: | † Notohippidae Ameghino, 1894 |
| Genera | |
| |
Notohippidae is a paraphyletic extinct family of notoungulate mammals from South America. Notohippids are known from the Eocene and Oligocene epochs. [1]
Although the name notohippids means "southern horses," these animals did not look like horses. The name refers to the teeth very similar to those of horses, with sharp incisors and high-crowned molars suitable for shredding grass. The shape of the skull and particularly the dentition is the result of convergent evolution with the equids, perissodactyl mammals that developed on the northern continents. The body of notohippids was rather stocky, supported by relatively elongated legs equipped with claws (and not hooves). The earliest forms of notohippids possessed low-crowned molars, but in the course of evolution the teeth gradually became more prismatic, and covered with a thick layer of cement; the skull also became longer, and as a result of elongation, spaces formed between incisors, canines and molars.
The notohippid family was first described by Florentino Ameghino in 1894. The first notohippids developed during the Lower Eocene, Pampahippus from ancestors that are probably to be found in the archaic family of the Isotemnidae or the Oldfieldtomasiidae. Later, over the course of the Oligocene, gradually more specialized forms originated, including Notohippus , Rhynchippus Eurygenium , Eomorphippus , Morphippus , Mendozahippus , Pascualihippus , Argyrohippus . One of the last forms attributed to this family, the large Colpodon from the Lower Miocene, is actually a probable aberrant representative of the family Leontiniidae.
The notohippids are part of the notoungulates, a large group of South American mammals that developed, over the course of the Cenozoic, a number of forms of various appearance and size. The notohippids, in particular, are part of the toxodont group, of which they are considered among the most basal members. Recent studies indicate, however, that the notohippid family is not a monophyletic group, but rather paraphyletic and therefore invalid in a cladistic sense, since it consists of gradually more evolved forms that are increasingly close to the origin of other notoungulate groups.
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 Deseado and Sarmiento Formations of Argentina and the Salla Formation of Bolivia.
Pseudhyrax is an extinct genus of archaeohyracid notoungulate. It lived from the Late Eocene to the Early Oligocene, of what is now South America.
Argyrohippus is an extinct genus of notoungulate, belonging to the family Notohippidae. It lived from the Late Oligocene to the Early Miocene, and its fossilized remains were found in South America.
Periphragnis is an extinct genus of isotemnid notoungulates that lived from the Middle Eocene to the Early Oligocene in what is now Argentina and Chile.
Pleurostylodon is an extinct genus of notoungulate belonging to the family Isotemnidae. It lived during the Middle Eocene, in what is now Argentina.
Rhyphodon is an extinct genus of notoungulate, who lived from the Middle to the Late Eocene in what is today South America.
Eomorphippus is an extinct genus of notohippid notoungulate that lived from the Late Eocene to the Early Oligocene in what is today South America.
Eurygenium is an extinct genus of notoungulate belonging to the family Notohippidae. It lived during the Late Oligocene in what is today South America.
Morphippus is an extinct genus of notohippid notoungulate that lived during the Middle to Late Oligocene in what is now South America.
Termastherium is an extinct genus of leontiniid notoungulates that lived during the Early Oligocene of what is now Chile. Fossils of this genus have been found in the Oligocene-aged Abanico Formation of Chile.
Archaeopithecus is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the suborder Typotheria. It lived during the Middle Eocene, in what is today Argentina.
Oldfieldthomasia is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, probably related to the suborder Typotheria. It lived during the Middle Eocene, in what is today South America.
Santiagorothia is an extinct genus of interatheriid notoungulate. It lived during the Early Oligocene, and its fossils were discovered in Argentina and Chile.
Cochilius is an extinct genus of interatheriid notoungulate that lived between the Late Oligocene and the lower Miocene in what is now Argentina.
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.
Pascualihippus is an extinct genus of notoungulate belonging to the family Notohippidae. It lived during the Late Oligocene, in what is now Bolivia.
Teushentherium is an extinct genus of notohippid notoungulate from the Oligocene of Argentina. Fossils have been found in the Sarmiento Formation of Argentina.
Rosendo is an extinct genus of notohippid notoungulates that lived during the Early Oligocene in what is now Argentina and Chile. Fossils of this genus have been found in the Sarmiento Formation and the Abanico Formations of Argentina and Chile.
Moqueguahippus is an extinct genus of notohippid notoungulates that lived during the Late Oligocene of what is now Peru. Fossils of this genus have been found in the Moquegua Formation of Peru, which it was named after.
 | This notoungulate-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
