Toxodontia Temporal range: | |
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Mixotoxodon | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | † Notoungulata |
Suborder: | † Toxodontia |
Families [1] | |
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Toxodontia [3] 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. [4] The group is named after Toxodon , the first example of the group to be discovered by science.
Isotemnidae, the oldest and most primitive family of toxodonts, were generally large animals with larger canines than other early notoungulates. The family is probably paraphyletic or polyphyletic since only primitive dental features unite the 12 included genera, such as a complete dentition with unreduced canines and no diastemata in the earliest genera. Likewise, they are only weakly linked to other toxodonts by a few dental features, and their primitive cheek tooth pattern can be basal to all notoungulates except notioprogonians. The oldest of the 12 genera in this family is Isotemnus known from the Riochican-Casamayoran, but other genera are known from the Casamayoran, including Thomashuxleya , Pleurostylodon , and Pampatemnus . Of these, the sheep-sized Thomashuxleya is the best known; its skeleton shows that it was relatively robust, had limbs with reduced distal elongation, and five-hoofed feet with a large central digit. [4]
Notohippidae was also present during the Casamayoran but tend to have more hypsodont cheek teeth than isotemnids. Pampahippus , one of the earliest genera in this family was, nevertheless, low-crowned with densely packed cheek teeth. Its primitiveness is suggested by the retained paraconids on the lower molars. Eomorphippus , a Mustersan notohippid, was moderately hypsodont, Deseadan genera such as Rhynchippus and Eurygenium were very high-crowned, and Santacrucian genera had acquired cementum on the crowns similar to equids. [4]
The last toxodont family from the early Tertiary are the Leontiniidae. They share several derived tarsal and auditory features with the notohippids and are, together with the Deseadan Toxodontidae, nested within the paraphyletic Notohippidae. Leontiniids are known from the Deseadan or later, but the oldest and most primitive leontiniid, the Mustersan Martinmiguelia , retained a primitive brachydont dentition without diastemata except around the very small canines. Scarrittia , the best-known leontiniid, had mesaxonic (enlarged central digit) feet with reduced lateral digits. [4]
Toxodontids first appeared during the Oligocene in the form of Proadinotherium . Another well-known toxodontid is Nesodon , a medium-sized Miocene toxodontid descended from Proadinotherium which had converted its second upper incisors into tusks. Toxodon itself evolved during the Pliocene alongside the related Trigodon , an equally large mammal which possessed a horn projecting from its forehead, in the same way as a modern rhinoceros. Toxodon was a huge herbivore (about the size of a modern black rhinoceros) with four toes on each foot.
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.
Leontiniidae is an extinct family comprising eighteen genera of notoungulate mammals known from the Middle Eocene (Mustersan) to Late Miocene (Huayquerian) of South America.
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.
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.
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.
Piauhytherium is an extinct genus of herbivorous notoungulate mammal of the family Toxodontidae. It lived during the Late Pleistocene; fossils have been found in Brazil. The only known species is Piauhytherium capivarae.
Prosotherium is an extinct genus of late Oligocene hegetotheriid notoungulate. It has been found in two Argentinian fossil formations, ie, the Sarmiento Formation in Chubut Province, and the Agua de la Piedra Formation in Mendoza Province.
Gualta is an extinct genus of leontiniid notoungulates. It lived during the Late Oligocene of what is now Argentina.
Pleurostylodon is an extinct genus of notoungulate belonging to the family Isotemnidae. It lived during the Middle Eocene, in what is now Argentina.
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.
Anayatherium is an extinct genus of notoungulate belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Late Oligocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America.
Colpodon is an extinct genus of herbivorous mammal, belonging to the order Notoungulata. It lived during the Early Miocene, in what is today Argentina and Chile, in South America.
Elmerriggsia is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Late Oligocene in South America.
Martinmiguelia is an extinct genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Middle Eocene, and its fossil remains were found 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.