Astrapotherium
Astrapotherium | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Skull of Astrapotherium magnus | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | †Astrapotheria |
Family: | †Astrapotheriidae |
Genus: | †Astrapotherium Burmeister 1879 |
Type species | |
†Astrapotherium magnum Owen 1853
| |
Species | |
| |
Synonyms | |
Level genus
For A. burmeisteri
For A. magnum
For A. ruderarium
|
Astrapotherium ("lightning beast") is an extinct genus of South American mammals that vaguely resembled a small elephant or large tapir. However, it was unrelated to elephants or tapirs, but was instead related to other extinct South American ungulates. Fossils have been dated from the Early to Middle Miocene.[2] Fossil remains of the type species A. magnus have been found in the in Argentina. Other fossils have been found in the , , and of Argentina and Chile (Cura-Mallín Group).[2]
Description[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Astrapotherium_magnum_NT.jpg/220px-Astrapotherium_magnum_NT.jpg)
Astrapotherium had an elongated body, with a total length around 2.5 m (8.2 ft), a weight of nearly 1,000 kg (2,200 lb), and relatively short limbs. It had small plantigrade feet, and the hind limbs were significantly weaker than the fore limbs. Its four canine teeth were elongated to form short tusks, and it had broad, protruding lower incisors, which likely ground against a horny pad in the upper jaw, as in many modern ruminants.[3]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Astrapotherium_canine.jpg/220px-Astrapotherium_canine.jpg)
The nostrils were placed high on the head, which might indicate the presence of a trunk, but could equally be due to other reasons, such as an inflatable nasal cavity.[citation needed]
Classification[]
Cladogram based in the phylogenetic analysis published by Vallejo-Pareja et al., 2015, showing the position of Astrapotherium:[4]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paleobiology[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Astrapotherium_magnum_e.jpg/220px-Astrapotherium_magnum_e.jpg)
The animal was probably at least partially aquatic, living in shallow water and feeding on marsh plants in a similar manner to a modern hippopotamus.[3]
References[]
- ^ Alejandro Kramarz; Alberto Garrido; Mariano Bond (2019). "Astrapotherium from the Middle Miocene Collón Cura Formation and the decline of astrapotheres in southern South America". Ameghiniana. in press. Archived from the original on 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Astrapotherium at Fossilworks.org
- ^ Jump up to: a b Palmer, Douglas, ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 248. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
- ^ Vallejo-Pareja, M. C.; Carrillo, J. D.; Moreno-Bernal, J. W.; Pardo-Jaramillo, M.; Rodriguez-Gonzalez, D. F.; Muñoz-Duran, J. (January 2015). "Hilarcotherium castanedaii, gen. et sp. nov., a new Miocene astrapothere (Mammalia, Astrapotheriidae) from the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 35 (0): 1–10. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.903960. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 July 2019 – via the Colombian Geological Survey.
External links[]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Astrapotherium. |
- Meridiungulata
- Miocene mammals of South America
- Colloncuran
- Friasian
- Santacrucian
- Colhuehuapian
- Neogene Argentina
- Fossils of Argentina
- Neogene Chile
- Fossils of Chile
- Fossil taxa described in 1879
- Taxa named by Hermann Burmeister
- Prehistoric placental genera