Astrapotherium magnum (Burmeister 1879, Hatcher 1901; Paleocene-Miocene, 59-12 mya; 3m long) was considered a South American ungulate and a member of the order, Astrapotheria, by the authors of Wikipedia. They report, "The history of this order is enigmatic." Here
Astrapotherium nests
with Trigonostylops and the water opossums, Chironectes and Kopiodon.
Like a hippo,
the large and ever-growing curved canines of Astrapotherium scraped against each other during life producing sharp tips. Uniquely, the rostrum was much shorter than the mandibles. The feet and toes were all small. The narial opening was elevated to the top of the skull. Astrapotherium likely had a tapir-like (Fig. 3) trunk.
Kopidodon macrognathus (originally Cryptopithecus macrognathus Wittich 1902; Weitzel 1933/4; Tobien 1969; Naturmuseum Senckenberg; 115cm total length; middle Eocene, 47 mya) is traditionally considered, "a squirrel-like mammal with large canines." Here it nests with water opossums like Chironectes and basal to astrapotheres. The Messel fossil shows it had long hair and a bushy tail. There were 26-29 presacral vertebrae + 3 sacrals. The foreclaws were taller than wide (similar to arboreal mammals) and larger than the hind claws. The feet were plantigrade. The limbs were heavily muscled and designed for slow movement. The tail vertebrae diminished posteriorly to tiny elongate bones. Stomach contents include fruit and seeds.
Traditionally considered a member of the Cimolesta, this is an invalid, paraphyletic clade. Likewise considered a member of the Pantolesta, this is likewise an invalid, paraphyletic clade in the LRT. Likewise considered a member of the Paroxyclaenidae. It has not been compared to Chironectes and astrapotheres in prior studies. |
