Astrapotherium
Astrapotherium | |
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Skull | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | †Astrapotheria |
Family: | †Astrapotheriidae |
Subfamily: | †Astrapotheriinae |
Genus: | †Astrapotherium Burmeister 1879 |
Type species | |
†Astrapotherium magnum Owen 1853
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Species | |
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Synonyms | |
Level genus
For A. burmeisteri
For A. magnum
For A. ruderarium
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Astrapotherium ("lightning beast") is an extinct genus of South American mammals that vaguely resembled a cross between a small elephant, and a very large tapir. This peculiar-looking animal was unrelated to elephants or tapirs, and was instead related to other extinct South American ungulates. The beast lived in the Early to Middle Miocene.[2] Fossil remains of the type species A. magnus ("great lightning beast") have been found in the Santa Cruz Formation in Argentina. Other fossils have been found in the Deseado, Sarmiento, and Aisol Formations of Argentina and Chile (Cura-Mallín Group).[2]
Description
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/AstrapotheriumDB.jpg/220px-AstrapotheriumDB.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]
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.
Classification
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Astrapotherium_magnum.jpg/170px-Astrapotherium_magnum.jpg)
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/2/2c/Astrapotherium_canine.jpg/220px-Astrapotherium_canine.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.
- ^ a b Astrapotherium at Fossilworks.org
- ^ 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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)