Extinct genus of mammals
Astrapotherium Temporal range:
Early Miocene–Middle Miocene Skull ofAstrapotherium magnum Scientific classification Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: † Astrapotheria Family: † Astrapotheriidae Subfamily: † Astrapotheriinae Genus: † Astrapotherium Burmeister , 1879Type species †Astrapotherium magnum Species Synonyms Listriotherium Mercerat 1891 Mesembriotherium Moreno 1882 Xylotherium Mercerat 1891 Synonyms ofA. burmeisteri
Astrapotherium giganteum Ameghino, 1891 Astrapotherium delimitatum Ameghino, 1891 Astrapotherium columnatum Ameghino, 1891 Astrapotherium nanum Ameghino, 1891 Astrapotherium karaikense Ameghino, 1904b Astrapodon carinatus Ameghino, 1891 Parastrapotherium paucum Ameghino 1902 Parastrapotherium crassum (partim)Ameghino 1902 Astrapothericulus minusculus Ameghino 1902 Astrapothericulus laevisculus Ameghino 1902 Astrapotherium triangulidens Ameghino 1902 Prochalicotherium patagonicum Ameghino 1902
Astrapotherium genus of largeastrapotherian ungulate native to South America during the early-middleMiocene . It is the best known member of the group. The type species.A. magnus have been found in theSanta Cruz Formation inArgentina . Other fossils have been found in theDeseado ,Sarmiento , andAisol Formations of Argentina andChile (Cura-Mallín Group ).[ 2]
Restoration and size comparison ofA. magnus Astrapotherium had an elongated body, with a total length around 2.5 m (8.2 ft), a weight of nearly 1,000 kg (2,200 lb), and relatively short limbs.[ 3] [ 4] plantigrade feet, and the hind limbs were significantly weaker than the fore limbs. Its four canine teeth were elongated to form short tusks, and it had broad, protruding lower incisors, which likely ground against a horny pad in the upper jaw, as in many modernruminants .[ 3]
Canine tooth ofA. magnus at theMuseum für Naturkunde , Berlin Astrapotherium has been inferred to have had a tapir-likeproboscis , based on its retracted narials and short upper jaw.[ 5]
Cladogram based in thephylogenetic analysis published by Vallejo-Parejaet al ., 2015, showing the position ofAstrapotherium :[ 6]
The animal was probably at least partially aquatic, living in shallow water in a similar manner to a modernhippopotamus .[ 3]
^ Alejandro Kramarz; Alberto Garrido; Mariano Bond (2019)."Astrapotherium from the Middle Miocene Collón Cura Formation and the decline of astrapotheres in southern South America" .Ameghiniana . in press. Archived fromthe original on 2017-10-02. Retrieved2019-07-24 . ^ Astrapotherium Fossilworks .org^a b c Palmer, Douglas, ed. (1999).The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals . London: Marshall Editions. p. 248.ISBN 1-84028-152-9 ^ Kramarz, Alejandro G.; Bond, Mariano (2008)."Revision ofParastrapotherium (Mammalia, Astrapotheria) and other Deseadan astrapotheres of Patagonia" .Ameghiniana 45 (3). ^ Milewski, Antoni V.; Dierenfeld, Ellen S. (March 2013)."Structural and functional comparison of the proboscis between tapirs and other extant and extinct vertebrates" .Integrative Zoology .8 (1):84– 94.doi :10.1111/j.1749-4877.2012.00315.x .PMID 23586563 . ^ Vallejo-Pareja, M. C.; Carrillo, J. D.; Moreno-Bernal, J. W.; Pardo-Jaramillo, M.; Rodriguez-Gonzalez, D. F.; Muñoz-Duran, J. (January 2015)."Hilarcotherium castanedaii , gen. et sp. nov., a new Miocene astrapothere (Mammalia, Astrapotheriidae) from the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia" (PDF) .Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35 (2): e903960.Bibcode :2015JVPal..35E3960V .doi :10.1080/02724634.2014.903960 .S2CID 130728894 .Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 July 2019 – via theColombian Geological Survey .
