Prothylacinus

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Prothylacinus
Temporal range: Early Miocene
(Santacrucian-Friasian)
~16.0–15.5  Ma
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Prothylacinus.jpg
Life restoration of P. patagonicus and Interatherium robustum
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order:† Sparassodonta
Family:† Prothylacinidae
Genus:† Prothylacinus
Ameghino, 1891
Type species
Prothylacinus patagonicus
Ameghino, 1891
Synonyms
  • NapodonictisAmeghino, 1894
  • Prothylacocyon Winge, 1923
  • Prothylacynus

Prothylacinus is an extinct genus of South American metatherian, that lived during the Early Miocene. [1]

Contents

Description

Prothylacinus had a vestigial hallux that was most likely not visible in life. The humerus bore the epicondylar foramen. In form it was similar to the related Borhyaena . [2] As with other Sparassodonts, the deciduous teeth are less reduced, only the canines and premolars changing. [2]

Distribution

Fossils of Prothylacinus have been found in the Friasian Río Frias Formation of Chile and the Santacrucian Santa Cruz Formation of Argentina. [3]

Restored skeleton Prothylacinus patagonicus.png
Restored skeleton

References

  1. ↑ Argot, C. (2003). "Functional adaptations of the postcranial skeleton of two Miocene borhyaenoids (Mammalia, Metatheria), Borhyaena and Prothylacinus, from South America". Palaeontology. 46 (6): 1213–1267. Bibcode:2003Palgy..46.1213A. doi: 10.1046/j.0031-0239.2003.00339.x .
  2. 1 2 Scott, William Berryman; Scott, William Berryman (1913). A history of land mammals in the Western Hemisphere; illustrated with 32 plates and more than 100 drawings. New York: Macmillan.
  3. ↑ Prothylacinus at Fossilworks.org


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