Parastrapotherium

Parastrapotherium Temporal range: Late Oligocene-Early Miocene (Deseadan-Colhuehuapian) ~23–17.5 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Parastrapotherium giganteum tooth
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Astrapotheria
Family:	†Astrapotheriidae
Genus:	†Parastrapotherium Ameghino 1895
Species
See text

Parastrapotherium is an extinct genus of South American land mammal that existed from the Late Oligocene (Deseadan SALMA) to the Early Miocene (Colhuehuapian SALMA). The genus includes some of the largest and smallest known astrapotherian, but at present no generally recognized description can adequately characterize it.[1]

Description

Reconstruction of Parastrapotherium sp.

The genus was first described by Ameghino 1895. He distinguished it from the Santacrucian (late Early Miocene) Astrapotherium (Burmeister 1879) based on the greater number of upper and lower molars. Although later researchers disagreed and concluded that Ameghino based his conclusion on very fragmentary materials, they mostly agreed to distinguish the genus from other groups of astrapotherians.[1]

Species

The following species have been recognised:[2]

• Parastrapotherium cingulatum Ameghino 1894
• Parastrapotherium ephebicum Ameghino 1894
• Parastrapotherium holmbergi Ameghino 1894
• Parastrapotherium lemoinei Ameghino 1894
• Parastrapotherium trouessarti Ameghino 1894

Distribution

Fossils of Parastrapotherium have been found in:[2]

Oligocene

• Deseado Formation, Argentina
• Sarmiento Formation, Argentina

Miocene

• Cerro Bandera Formation, Argentina
• Sarmiento Formation, Argentina

References

1. Kramarz & Bond 2008, Introduction
2. Parastrapotherium at Fossilworks.org

Bibliography

• Ameghino, Florentino (1894). "Sur les oiseaux fossiles de Patagonie; et la faune mammalogique des couches à Pyrotherium". Boletin del Instituto Geográfico Argentino. 15: 501–660. OCLC 85042509.
• Ameghino, Florentino (1895). Première contribution à la connaissance de la faune mammalogique des couches à Pyrotherium. Buenos Aires: P.E. Coni. OCLC 40071157.
• Burmeister, Hermann (1879). Description physique de la République Argentine : d'après des observations personnelles et étrangères. Vol. 3 Animaux vertébrés, 1. partie, Mammifères vivants et éteints. Paris: Savy. p. 520. OCLC 162707154.
• Kramarz, Alejandro G.; Bond, Mariano (2008). "Revision of Parastrapotherium (Mammalia, Astrapotheria) and other Deseadan astrapotheres of Patagonia". Ameghiniana. 45 (3). Retrieved March 9, 2013.