''Griphodon'' is an
extinct
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
mammal
A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
s, belonging to the order
Pyrotheria
Pyrotheria is an order (biology), order of extinct South American native ungulates, meridiungulate mammals. These elephant-like ungulates include the genus, genera ''Baguatherium'', ''Carolozittelia'', ''Colombitherium'', ''Griphodon'', ''Propyr ...
. It lived during the Middle
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
, in what is now
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
.
Description
All that is known about this animal is a fragment of a mandible complete with teeth. Its teeth were two-crested, slightly more transversal than in other genera such as ''
Carolozittelia'', but there are indications of the presence of a longitudinal crest, and even, in the third
premolar
The premolars, also called premolar Tooth (human), teeth, or bicuspids, are transitional teeth located between the Canine tooth, canine and Molar (tooth), molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per dental terminology#Quadrant, quadrant in ...
, of a complete crest, not found in ''Pyrotherium''.
Classification
''Griphodon peruvianus'' was first described in 1924 by Anthony, who considered it to be a
Perissodactyl
Perissodactyla (, ), or odd-toed ungulates, is an order of Ungulate, ungulates. The order includes about 17 living species divided into three Family (biology), families: Equidae (wild horse, horses, Asinus, asses, and zebras), Rhinocerotidae ( ...
. The fragmentary fossil was found near
Chicoca, along the
Huallaga River
The Huallaga River is a tributary of the Marañón River, part of the Amazon Basin. Old names for this river include ''Guallaga'' and ''Rio de los Motilones''. The Huallaga is born on the slopes of the Andes in central Peru and joins the Marañó ...
. Subsequently the genus was considered a basal member of the Pyrotheres, a mysterious clade of heavy-shaped mammals from the Early
Cenozoic
The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...
of South America, of uncertain affinities. Other fossils attributed to ''Griphodon'' were later found near
Contamana
Contamana is a town in the Loreto Region in northeastern Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bo ...
in the
Loreto Province of
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
.
Paleoecology
''Griphodon'' seems to had a diet mainly composed of tough plants, which were crushed by its powerful crested teeth.
Bibliography
*H. E. Anthony. 1924. A new fossil perissodactyl from Peru. American Museum Novitates 111:1-3
*B. J. Shockey and F. Anaya-Daza. 2004. Pyrotherium macfaddeni, sp. nov. (late Oligocene, Bolivia) and the pedal morphology of pyrotheres. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 24(2):481-488
*P. Antoine, M. A. Abello, S. Adnet, A. J. Altamirano Sierra, P. Baby, G. Billet, M. Boivin, Y. Calderón, A. Candela, J. Chabain, F. Corfu, D. A. Croft, M. Ganerød, C. Jaramillo, S. Klaus, L. Marivaux, R. E. Navarrete, M. J. Orliac, F. Parra, M. E. Pérez, F. Pujos, J. Rage, and A. R. 2016. A 60-million-year Cenozoic history of western Amazonian ecosystems in Contamana, eastern Peru. Gondwana Research 31:30-59
{{Taxonbar, from=Q55760714
Pyrotheria
Eocene mammals of South America
Paleogene Peru
Fossils of Peru
Fossil taxa described in 1924
Prehistoric placental genera