Peligrotherium

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Peligrotherium
Temporal range: Early Paleocene (Peligran)
~61.7–58.7  Ma
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Peligrotherium.jpg
Life restoration and 3D model of skull and mandibles
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Clade:† Meridiolestida
Clade:† Mesungulatoidea
Family:† Peligrotheriidae
Bonaparte et al., 1993
Genus:† Peligrotherium
Bonaparte et al., 1993
Species:
†P. tropicalis
Binomial name
†Peligrotherium tropicalis
Bonaparte et al., 1993

Peligrotherium is an extinct meridiolestidan mammal from the Paleocene of Patagonia, originally interpreted as a stem-ungulate (though it did co-exist with early meridiungulates). Its remains have been found in the Salamanca Formation. [1] Around the size of a dog, it was among the largest of all non-therian mammals, and the largest non-therian mammal known from South America. [2] It is a member of Mesungulatoidea, a clade of herbivorous meridiolestidans with molars that had rounded (bunodont) cusps. [3]

Contents

Description

The dental formula of Peligrotherium tropicalis was I4?/? C1/1 P3/3 M3/3. Its last premolar was fully molarised, having morphology strongly akin to a molar, as has been suggested for mesungulatoids broadly. The presence of a high cementoenamel junction with a pronounced ridge showing signs of having undergone oral abrasion suggests that the species had a tall, thick gingiva comparable to that of a hippopotamus. [4]

Diet

A biomechanical study found Peligrotherium to be a herbivore that was functionally similar to the black rhino. [5]

References

  1. ↑ Peligrotherium at Fossilworks.org
  2. ↑ Rougier, Guillermo, Martinelli, Agustin, Forasiepi, Analía M., Mesozoic Mammals from South America and their Forerunners, ISBN 978-3-030-63862-7
  3. ↑ Tony Harper; Ana Parras; Guillermo W. Rougier (2018). "Reigitherium (Meridiolestida, Mesungulatoidea) an enigmatic Late Cretaceous mammal from Patagonia, Argentina: morphology, affinities, and dental evolution". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. in press. doi:10.1007/s10914-018-9437-x.
  4. ↑ Rougier, G. W.; Paez-Arango, N.; Moore, J. P.; Biven-Leslie, Z. (29 April 2025). "Dental and mandibular morphology of Peligrotherium tropicalis (Mammalia, Meridiolestida) from the Paleocene of Patagonia, Argentina" . Journal of Mammalian Evolution . 32 (2). doi:10.1007/s10914-025-09758-3. ISSN   1064-7554 . Retrieved 16 June 2025– via Springer Nature Link.
  5. ↑ Harper, Tony; Adkins, Caleb; Rougier, Guillermo (2022). "Reconstructed masticatory biomechanics of Peligrotherium tropicalis, a non-therian mammal from the Paleocene of Argentina". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica . 67. doi: 10.4202/app.00912.2021 . Retrieved 16 June 2025.


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