Prothylacinus
| Prothylacinus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Life restoration of P. patagonicus and Interatherium robustum | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Sparassodonta |
| Family: | †Prothylacinidae |
| Genus: | †Prothylacinus Ameghino, 1891 |
| Type species | |
| Prothylacinus patagonicus Ameghino, 1891
| |
| Synonyms | |
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Prothylacinus is an extinct genus of South American metatherian, that lived during the Early Miocene.[1]
Description
[edit]Prothylacinus had a vestigial hallux that was most likely not visible in life. The humerus bore the epicondylar foramen. In form it was similar to the related Borhyaena.[2] As with other Sparassodonts, the deciduous teeth are less reduced, only the canines and premolars changing.[2]
Distribution
[edit]Fossils of Prothylacinus have been found in the Friasian Río Frias Formation of Chile and the Santacrucian Santa Cruz Formation of Argentina.[3]
References
[edit]
- ^ Argot, C. (2003). "Functional adaptations of the postcranial skeleton of two Miocene borhyaenoids (Mammalia, Metatheria), Borhyaena and Prothylacinus, from South America". Palaeontology. 46 (6): 1213–1267. Bibcode:2003Palgy..46.1213A. doi:10.1046/j.0031-0239.2003.00339.x.
- ^ a b Scott, William Berryman; Scott, William Berryman (1913). A history of land mammals in the Western Hemisphere; illustrated with 32 plates and more than 100 drawings. New York: Macmillan.
- ^ Prothylacinus at Fossilworks.org
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