Protypotherium

Protypotherium is an extinct genus of notoungulate mammals native to South America during the Miocene epoch. A number of closely related animals date back further, to the Paleocene. Fossils of Protypotherium have been found in the Deseadan Fray Bentos Formation of Uruguay, Muyu Huasi Formation of Bolivia, Cura-Mallín and Río Frías Formations of Chile,[1] and Santa Cruz, Salicas,[2] Ituzaingó,[3] Cerro Bandera,[4] Chichinales, Sarmiento and Collón Curá Formations of Argentina.[5][6]

Protypotherium
Temporal range: Early-Late Miocene (Deseadan-Huayquerian)
~23–6.8 Ma
Fossil of P. australe. Exhibit in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
†Notoungulata
Suborder:
†Typotheria
Family:
†Interatheriidae
Genus:
†Protypotherium

Type species
Protypotherium australe
Moreno 1882
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Toxodontophanus Moreno 1882

Description
Restoration of P. australe and Stegotherium tesselatum

Protypotherium was slightly larger than a rabbit, measuring about 40 centimetres (1.3 ft) in length. The body and legs as well as the tail of this animal were relatively long, while its neck was short. It probably resembled a rodent, possessing slender limbs with clawed feet. Its rat-like skull contained a set of 44 unspecialized teeth.[7]

From the shape of its claws, Protypotherium would have been adept at digging and likely took over the burrows of other animals.

Species

The following species of Protypotherium have been described:[5]

  • P. altum Ameghino 1891
  • P. antiquum Ameghino 1882
  • P. attenuatum Ameghino 1887
  • P. australe Moreno 1882
  • P. claudum Ameghino 1889
  • P. colloncurensis Vera et al. 2017[6]
  • P. diastematum Ameghino 1891
  • P. distinctum Cabrera & Kraglievich 1931
  • P. endiadys Roth 1898
  • P. minutum Cabrera & Kraglievich 1931
  • P. praerutilum Ameghino 1887
  • P. sinclairi Kramarz et al. 2015[4]
  • P. concepcionensis Solórzano et al. 2019
  • Lower dentition of P. endiadys
  • Skull of P. endiadys
  • Post-cranial bones of P. endiadys
  • Lower and upper dentition of P. colloncurensis
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References
  1. Bostelmann et al., 2012, p.44
  2. Brandoni et al., 2012, p.7
  3. Cione et al., 2000, p.208
  4. Kramarz et al., 2015, p.587
  5. Protypotherium at Fossilworks.org
  6. Vera et al., 2017, p.855
  7. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 251. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

Bibliography
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