Litopterna
Litopterna (from Ancient Greek: λῑτή πτέρνα "smooth heel") is an extinct order of South American native ungulates that lived from the Paleocene to the end of the Pleistocene-early Holocene around 63 million-12,000 years ago, and were also present in Antarctica during the Eocene. They represent the second most diverse group of South American ungulates after Notoungulata. It is divided into nine families, with Proterotheriidae and Macraucheniidae being the most diverse and last surviving families.
Litopterna Temporal range: | |
---|---|
Skeleton of Macrauchenia (Macraucheniidae) | |
Skeleton of Diadiaphorus (Proterotheriidae) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Clade: | Panperissodactyla |
Order: | †Litopterna Ameghino 1889 |
Subgroups | |
|
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.