Astrapotherium

<i>Astrapotherium</i>

Astrapotherium

Extinct genus of mammals

Astrapotherium ("lightning beast") is an extinct genus of large astrapotherian ungulate native to South America during the early-middle Miocene. It is the best known member of the group. The type species. A. magnus 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]

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Type species ...

Description

Restoration and size comparison of A. magnus

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.[3] Larger estimates suggest its body mass was up to 1,600–3,500 kilograms (3,500–7,700 lb).[4] 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]

Canine tooth of A. magnus at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin

Astrapotherium has been inferred to have had a tapir-like proboscis, based on its retracted narials and short upper jaw.[5]

Classification

Cladogram based in the phylogenetic analysis published by Vallejo-Pareja et al., 2015, showing the position of Astrapotherium:[6]

Eoastrapostylops

Paleobiology

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

  1. [1]
    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.
  2. [2]
    Astrapotherium at Fossilworks.org
  3. [3]
    Palmer, Douglas, ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 248. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  4. [4]
    Kramarz, Alejandro G.; Bond, Mariano (2008). "Revision of Parastrapotherium (Mammalia, Astrapotheria) and other Deseadan astrapotheres of Patagonia". Ameghiniana. 45 (3).
  5. [5]
    Milewski, Antoni V.; Dierenfeld, Ellen S. (March 2013). "Structural and functional comparison of the proboscis between tapirs and other extant and extinct vertebrates". Integrative Zoology. 8 (1): 84–94. doi:10.1111/j.1749-4877.2012.00315.x. PMID 23586563.
  6. [6]
    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 (2): e903960. Bibcode:2015JVPal..35E3960V. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.903960. S2CID 130728894. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 July 2019 – via the Colombian Geological Survey.
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