''Thoatherium'' (meaning "active swift-beast") is an extinct genus of
litoptern mammals from the
Early Miocene of
Argentina. Fossils of the genus have been found in the
Santa Cruz Formation in
Argentina.
[''Thoatherium'']
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Description

With a length of , the
gazelle-like ''Thoatherium'' was a small representative of the order
Litopterna
Litopterna (from grc, λῑτή πτέρνα "smooth heel") is an extinct order of fossil hoofed mammals from the Cenozoic era. The order is one of the five great orders of South American ungulates that were endemic to the continent, until the G ...
. Judging from its long legs, it was a fast runner. ''Thoatherium'' had remarkably reduced toes; only one
horse-like
hoof remained. ''Thoatherium'' even lacked
splint bones, which are remnants of the second and fourth toe found in modern horses. Judging from its generalised, brachydont teeth, ''Thoatherium'' fed on soft leaves rather than on tough grasses.
[Darin A. Croft, ''Horned Armadillos and Rafting Monkeys: The Fascinating Fossil Mammals of South America'', Indiana University Press, 29/08/2016]
References
Proterotheriids
Burdigalian life
Miocene mammals of South America
Santacrucian
Neogene Argentina
Fossils of Argentina
Fossil taxa described in 1887
Taxa named by Florentino Ameghino
Prehistoric placental genera
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