HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''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''
at
Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...
.org


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 {{paleo-mammal-stub