Toxodon

Toxodon (meaning "bow tooth" in reference to the curvature of the teeth) is an extinct genus of large ungulate native to South America from the Late Miocene to early Holocene epochs (Mayoan to Lujanian in the SALMA classification) (about 11.6 million to 11,000 years ago). Toxodon is a member of Notoungulata, an order of extinct South American native ungulates distinct from living ungulate groups that had been indigenous to the continent for over 60 million years since the early Cenozoic, prior to the arrival of living ungulates into South America around 2.5 million years ago during the Great American Interchange. Toxodon is a member of the family Toxodontidae, which includes medium to large sized herbivores. Toxodon was one of the largest members of Toxodontidae and Notoungulata, with Toxodon platensis having an estimated body mass of 1,000–1,200 kilograms (2,200–2,600 lb).

Toxodon has been found across much of South America, excluding southern Patagonia, the Andes and northeastern-most region of the continent. Evidence suggests that Toxodon was ecologically plastic and able to adapt its diet to local conditions.

Toxodon became extinct as part of the end-Pleistocene extinctions around 12,000 years ago, along with most large mammals across the Americas.