''Arminiheringia'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

sparassodont Sparassodonta (from Greek to tear, rend; and , gen. , ' tooth) is an extinct order of carnivorous metatherian mammals native to South America, related to modern marsupials. They were once considered to be true marsupials, but are now tho ...

. It lived during the Early

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

Description

This animal had an exceptionally robust skull with strong teeth. The lower canines were exceptionally long and projected forward. The molars and premolars suggests a

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other ...

diet. Its body was probably massive, and the animal reached a considerable size, about 1.8 meters in length. Its legs were strong and sturdy, with a general appearance probably resembling that of a modern

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the N ...

Classification

''Arminiheringia'' was a typical member of the family

Proborhyaenidae Proborhyaenidae is an extinct family of metatherian mammals of the order Sparassodonta, which lived in South America from the Eocene (Mustersan) until the Oligocene (Deseadan). Sometimes it has been included as a subfamily of their relatives, the ...

, a clade of South American bear-like

metatherian Metatheria is a mammalian clade that includes all mammals more closely related to marsupials than to placentals. First proposed by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1880, it is a more inclusive group than the marsupials; it contains all marsupials as we ...

s. Those animals belonged to the order Sparassodonta, a clade related to marsupials whose members, during the course of their evolution, occupied niches ordinarily occupied on other continents by

carnivores A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other ...

. Arminiheringia and its relatives superficially resembled

creodont Creodonta ("meat teeth") is a former order of extinct carnivorous placental mammals that lived from the early Paleocene to the late Miocene epochs in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Originally thought to be a single group of animals anc ...

s. The only currently recognized species is ''Arminiheringia auceta''. It was closely related to ''

Callistoe ''Callistoe'' is an extinct genus of sparassodont. It lived during the Early Eocene, and its fossilized remains were found in South America. Description Unlike most of its relatives, such as '' Proborhyaena'' and ''Arminiheringia'', ''Callistoe ...

''.

Paleobiology

Its strong, sturdy body and its skull armed with large teeth are typical indicators of a carnivorous diet ; the strange lower canines, elongated forwards, indicates that ''Arminiheringia'' was a specialised predator, although its hunting techniques are still a mistery.

Bibliography

* Babot, M. J., Powell, J. E. & de Muizon, C. 2002. Callistoe vincei, a new Proborhyaenidae (Borhyaenoidea, Metatheria, Mammalia) from the Early Eocene of Argentina. Geobios 35, 615–629. * Bond, M. & Pascual, R. 1983. Nuevos y elocuentes restos craneanos de Proborhyaena gigantea Ameghino, 1897 (Marsupialia, Borhyaenidae, Proborhyaeninae) de la Edad Deseadense. Un ejemplo de coevolución. Ameghiniana 20, 47–60. * Simpson, G. G. 1932. Skulls and brains of some mammals from the Notostylops beds of Patagonia. American Museum Novitates 578, 1-11. {{Taxonbar, from=Q3623120 Sparassodonts Eocene mammals of South America Fossils of Argentina Paleogene Argentina Fossils of Brazil Paleogene Brazil Fossil taxa described in 1902 Prehistoric mammal genera Golfo San Jorge Basin Sarmiento Formation