Some authors have proposed that the genusXenorhinotherium a synonym ofMacrauchenia, though this has not been widely accepted.[2][3] The nameXenorhinotherium means "Strange-Nosed Beast" andbahiense refers to the Brazilian state ofBahia, where the firstfossils were found.[4]
X. bahiense was amegafaunalherbivore that probably looked very much likeMacrauchenia, weighing about 940 kg (2,070 lb).[7] In life,X. bahiense would have vaguely resembled a tall, humpless camel with three toes on each foot and either asaiga-likeproboscis[8] or amoose-like nose.[9]Pictographs from theSerranía de La Lindosarock formation ofGuaviare,Colombia, show what might possibly beXenorhinotherium with three toes and a trunk, though the claims are highly controversial, and it is uncertain whether they even date to the last Ice Age.[10][11]
Pairedδ13C andδ18O measurements from fossils in the Brazilian Intertropical Region indicate thatX. bahiense was primarily abrowser.[12] These findings are supported by its hypsodonty index.[13] However, results derived from thedental microwear ofX. bahiense contradict these findings and instead recover the species as agrazer because of the high number of scratches on itstooth enamel that typically indicate a highly abrasive, grass-based diet. Additionally,X. bahiense inhabited semi-arid tropical environments, in contrast to its close relativeMacrauchenia patachonica, which inhabited subtropical to temperate environments that were more arid than those whichX. bahiense lived in.[2]
Though not known from other countries, computer modelling suggests that the habitat in the westernAndean slopes of Colombia,Ecuador, andPeru would have been suitable for this animal, particularly in areas that have not been extensively excavated yet.[2]
A 2025 study suggested thatXenorhinotherium survivied until the Holocene around 3,493–4,217 yearscal.Before Present (BP), based on aradiocarbon dated specimen found in Brazil.[17]
^Cartelle, C.; Lessa, G. (1988). "Descrição de um novo gênero e espécie de Macrauchenidae (Mammalia, Litopterna) do Pleistoceno do Brasil" [Description of a new genus and species of Macrauchenidae (Mammalia, Litopterna) from the Pleistocene of Brazil].Paulacoutiana (in Portuguese).3:3–26.
^Morcote-Ríos, Gaspar; Aceituno, Francisco Javier; Iriarte, José; Robinson, Mark; Chaparro-Cárdenas, Jeison L. (29 April 2020). "Colonisation and early peopling of the Colombian Amazon during the Late Pleistocene and the Early Holocene: New evidence from La Serranía La Lindosa".Quaternary International.578:5–19.doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2020.04.026.S2CID219014558.
Socorro, Orangel Antonio Aguilera (2006).Tesoros paleontológicos de Venezuela: el cuaternario del Estado Falcón [Paleontological treasures of Venezuela: the quaternary of the Falcón State] (in Spanish). Ministerio de la Cultura.ISBN978-980-12-1379-6.
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