| Thylacopygmaeus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Family: | † Herpetotheriidae |
| Genus: | † Thylacopygmaeus |
| Species: | †T. oliveirai |
| Binomial name | |
| †Thylacopygmaeus oliveirai Carneiro et. al., 2024 | |
Thylacopygmaeus is an extinct genus of herpetotheriid that lived in Brazil during the Early Eocene. It contains a single species, Thylacopygmaeus oliveirai. [1]
The Cenozoic is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66 million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of insects, mammals, birds and angiosperms. It is the latest of three geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon, preceded by the Mesozoic and Paleozoic. The Cenozoic started with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, when many species, including the non-avian dinosaurs, became extinct in an event attributed by most experts to the impact of a large asteroid or other celestial body, the Chicxulub impactor.
The Eocene is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name Eocene comes from the Ancient Greek Ἠώς and καινός and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch.
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from Ancient Greek ὀλίγος (olígos) 'few' and καινός (kainós) 'new', and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period.
The Paleogene Period is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period 66 Ma to the beginning of the Neogene Period 23.03 Ma. It is the first period of the Cenozoic Era, the tenth period of the Phanerozoic and is divided into the Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene epochs. The earlier term Tertiary Period was used to define the time now covered by the Paleogene Period and subsequent Neogene Period; despite no longer being recognized as a formal stratigraphic term, "Tertiary" still sometimes remains in informal use. Paleogene is often abbreviated "Pg", although the United States Geological Survey uses the abbreviation "Pe" for the Paleogene on the Survey's geologic maps.
Podocnemididae is a family of pleurodire (side-necked) turtles, once widely distributed. Most of its 41 genera and 57 species are now extinct. Seven of its eight surviving species are native to South America: the genus Peltocephalus, with two species, only one of which is extant ; and the genus Podocnemis, with six living species of South American side-necked river turtles and four extinct. There is also one genus native to Madagascar: Erymnochelys, the Madagascan big-headed turtle, whose single species E. madagascariensis.
The Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), alternatively ”Eocene thermal maximum 1 (ETM1)“ and formerly known as the "Initial Eocene" or “Late Paleocene thermal maximum", was a geologically brief time interval characterized by a 5–8 °C global average temperature rise and massive input of carbon into the ocean and atmosphere. The event began, now formally codified, at the precise time boundary between the Paleocene and Eocene geological epochs. The exact age and duration of the PETM remain uncertain, but it occurred around 55.8 million years ago (Ma) and lasted about 200 thousand years (Ka).
In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between 56 and47.8 Ma, is preceded by the Thanetian Age and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian is consistent with the Lower Eocene.
The Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, also called the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT) or Grande Coupure, is the transition between the end of the Eocene and the beginning of the Oligocene, an extinction event and faunal turnover occurring between 33.9 and 33.4 million years ago. It was marked by large-scale extinction and floral and faunal turnover, although it was relatively minor in comparison to the largest mass extinctions.
Herpetotherium is an extinct genus of metatherian mammal, belonging to the possibly paraphyletic family Herpetotheriidae. Native to North America from the Eocene to Early Miocene, fossils have been found in California, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Saskatchewan. The oldest species, H. knighti, is dated to around 50.3 mya, and the most recent, an unnamed species, may be as recent as 15.97 mya. A morphological analysis of marsupials and basal metatherians conducted in 2007 found Herpetotherium to be the sister group to extant marsupials. It is the youngest known metatherian from North America until the migration of the Virginia opossum from South America within the last 2 million years.
Herpetotheriidae is an extinct family of metatherians, closely related to marsupials. Species of this family are generally reconstructed as terrestrial, and are considered morphologically similar to modern opossums. They are suggested to have been insectivores. Fossils of herpetotheriids come from North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and perhaps South America. The oldest representative is Maastrichtidelphys from the latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of the Netherlands and the youngest member is Amphiperatherium from the Middle Miocene of Europe. The group has been suggested to be paraphyletic, with an analysis of petrosal anatomy finding that North American Herpetotherium was more closely related to marsupials than the European Peratherium and Amphiperatherium.
The Paleocene, or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek παλαιός palaiós meaning "old" and the Eocene Epoch, translating to "the old part of the Eocene".
Charactosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodilian. It was assigned to the family Crocodylidae in 1988. Specimens have been found in Colombia, Brazil, Jamaica, and possibly Florida and South Carolina. It was gharial-like in appearance with its long narrow snout but bore no relation to them, being more closely related to modern crocodiles than to gharials.
Peratherium is a genus of metatherian mammals in the family Herpetotheriidae that lived in Europe and Africa from the Early Eocene to the Early Miocene. Species include the following:
Palaeoryctidae is an extinct family of non-specialized eutherian mammals from extinct order Palaeoryctida, that lived in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa from the late Cretaceous to the middle Eocene.
Sebecidae is an extinct family of prehistoric terrestrial sebecosuchian crocodylomorphs, known from the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic of Europe and South America. They were the latest surviving group of non-crocodilian crocodylomorphs.
Cariamiformes is an order of primarily flightless birds that has existed for over 50 million years. The group includes the family Cariamidae (seriemas) and the extinct families such as Phorusrhacidae, Bathornithidae, Idiornithidae and Ameghinornithidae. Extant members (seriemas) are only known from South America, but fossils of many extinct taxa are also found in other continents including Europe and North America. Though traditionally considered a suborder within Gruiformes, both morphological and genetic studies show that it belongs to a separate group of birds, Australaves, whose other living members are Falconidae, Psittaciformes and Passeriformes.
Viverravus is an extinct genus of placental mammals from extinct subfamily Viverravinae within extinct family Viverravidae, that lived in North America, Europe and Asia from the middle Paleocene to middle Eocene.
Ernestokokenia is an extinct genus of mammal, belonging to the Didolodontidae. It lived during the Early Eocene and the Middle Eocene, and its fossils were discovered in South America.
Amphiperatherium is an extinct genus of metatherian mammal, closely related to marsupials. It ranged from the Early Eocene to the Middle Miocene in Europe. It is the most recent metatherian known from the continent.
Xenocynus is an extinct genus of metatherian mammal that lived in Brazil during the Eocene. It contains a single species, Xenocynus crypticus.