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Carodnia

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Carodnia[1]
Temporal range: Paleocene
Carodnia vieirai
Scientific classification
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Carodniidae

Genus:
Carodnia

Species
Synonyms

Ctalecarodnia Simpson 1935

Carodnia is an extinct genus of South American ungulate known from the Paleocene of Brazil and Argentina.[2] Together with Etayoa, Carodnia forms the enigmatic group Xenungulata.[3][4]

Carodnia is the largest mammal known from the Paleocene of South America. It was heavily built and had large canines and cheek teeth with a crested pattern like the uintatheres to which it can be related.[2] In life, it would have been a tapir-sized animal. It bore strong resemblances to both some condylarths and to dinoceratans, although without tusks or ossicones.

C. feruglioi and C. cabrerai are known from only a few dental remains. C. vieirai is known from much more complete dental, cranial, and postcranial remains including an almost complete mandible, many vertebrae, and several partial leg bones.[5]

When Simpson 1935 first described Carodnia and Ctalecarodnia, the former was known only from a left lower molar which was lacking in the latter, making a comparison very difficult. Paula Couto 1952, based on considerably more complete remains, concluded that the molars and premolars of both are indistinguishable and therefore reduced Ctalecarodnia to a synonym. Paula Couto also noted that the dentition of C. cabrerai and C. feruglioi are similar except in size, and that C. feruglioi can be a juvenile C. cabrerai, but nevertheless left them as two distinct species.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Carodnia in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved May 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Pantodonts, uintatheres and xenungulates: The first large herbivorous mammals". Paleocene Mammals. August 2005. Retrieved May 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ Etayoa in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved May 2013.
  4. ^ Xenungulata in the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved May 2013.
  5. ^ Paula Couto 1952, pp. 371–2
  6. ^ Paula Couto 1952, pp. 372–3

References