Toxodontidae Explained

Toxodontidae is an extinct family of notoungulate mammals, known from the Oligocene to the Holocene (11,000 BP) of South America,[1] with one genus, Mixotoxodon, also known from the Pleistocene of Central America and southern North America (as far north as Texas).[2] Member of the family were medium to large-sized,[3] ranging from around NaNkg (-2,147,483,648lb) in Nesodon to NaNkg (-2,147,483,648lb) in Toxodon,[4] and had medium to high-crowned dentition, which in derived members of the group evolved into ever-growing cheek teeth.[5] Isotopic analyses have led to the conclusion that Pleistocene members of the family were flexible mixed feeders (both browsing and grazing).[6] [7]

Taxonomy

The endemic notoungulate and litoptern ungulates of South America have been shown by studies of collagen and mitochondrial DNA sequences to be a sister group to the perissodactyls.[8] [9] [10]

In 2014, a study identifying a new species of toxodontid resolved the families' phylogenetic relations. The below cladogram was found by the study:[11]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Book: Turvey, Samuel T.. Holocene Extinctions. 2009-05-28. OUP Oxford. 9780191579981. en.
  2. E. Lundelius, et al. 2013. The first occurrence of a toxodont (Mammalia, Notoungulata) in the United States. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Vol 33, No 1, pp. 229–232 DOI:10.1080/02724634.2012.711405
  3. Cassini . Guillermo H. . Flores . David A. . Vizcaíno . Sergio F. . July 2012 . Postnatal ontogenetic scaling of Nesodontine (Notoungulata, Toxodontidae) cranial morphology: Nesodontine cranial allometry . Acta Zoologica . en . 93 . 3 . 249–259 . 10.1111/j.1463-6395.2011.00501.x. 11336/81335 . free .
  4. Nelson . Allison . Engelman . Russell K. . Croft . Darin A. . 2023-07-12 . How to weigh a fossil mammal? South American notoungulates as a case study for estimating body mass in extinct clades . Journal of Mammalian Evolution . en . 10.1007/s10914-023-09669-1 . 1064-7554.
  5. Gomes Rodrigues . Helder . Herrel . Anthony . Billet . Guillaume . 2017-01-31 . Ontogenetic and life history trait changes associated with convergent ecological specializations in extinct ungulate mammals . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . en . 114 . 5 . 1069–1074 . 10.1073/pnas.1614029114 . 0027-8424 . 5293108 . 28096389 . free.
  6. MacFadden . Bruce J. . Diet and habitat of toxodont megaherbivores (Mammalia, Notoungulata) from the late Quaternary of South and Central America . Quaternary Research . 64 . 2 . 113–124 . September 2005 . 10.1016/j.yqres.2005.05.003 . 2005QuRes..64..113M .
  7. Pérez-Crespo . Víctor Adrián . Arroyo-Cabrales . Joaquín . Guzmán . Ana Fabiola . Morales-Puente . Pedro . Cienfuegos-Alvarado . Edith . Otero . Francisco J. . 2020-01-09 . ISOTOPIC PALEOECOLOGY OF A TOXODONT (MIXOTOXODON LARENSIS) FROM MICHOACAN, MEXICO . The Southwestern Naturalist . 64 . 1 . 63 . 10.1894/0038-4909-64-1-63 . 0038-4909.
  8. Welker. F.. Collins. M. J.. Thomas. J. A.. Wadsley. M.. Brace. S.. Cappellini. E.. Turvey. S. T.. Reguero. M.. Gelfo. J. N.. Kramarz. A.. Burger. J.. Thomas-Oates. J.. Jane Thomas-Oates. Ashford. D. A.. Ashton. P. D.. Rowsell. K.. Porter. D. M.. Kessler. B.. Fischer. R.. Baessmann. C.. Kaspar. S.. Olsen. J. V.. Kiley. P.. Elliott. J. A.. Kelstrup. C. D.. Mullin. V.. Hofreiter. M.. Willerslev. E.. Hublin. J.-J.. Orlando. L.. Barnes. I.. MacPhee. R. D. E.. Matthew Collins (academic). Benedikt Kessler. Eske Willerslev. Ancient proteins resolve the evolutionary history of Darwin's South American ungulates. Nature. 2015-03-18. 0028-0836. 10.1038/nature14249. 522. 7554. 81–84. 25799987. 2015Natur.522...81W. 4467386. 11336/14769. free.
  9. Buckley. M.. Ancient collagen reveals evolutionary history of the endemic South American 'ungulates'. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 282. 1806. 2015-04-01. 20142671. 10.1098/rspb.2014.2671. 25833851. 4426609.
  10. Westbury. M.. Baleka. S.. Barlow. A.. Hartmann. S.. Paijmans. J. L. A.. Kramarz. A.. Forasiepi. A. M.. Bond. M.. Gelfo. J. N.. Reguero. M. A.. López-Mendoza. P.. Taglioretti. M.. Scaglia. F.. Rinderknecht. A.. Jones. W.. Mena. F.. Billet. G.. de Muizon. C.. Aguilar. J. L.. MacPhee. R. D. E.. Hofreiter. M.. A mitogenomic timetree for Darwin's enigmatic South American mammal Macrauchenia patachonica. Nature Communications. 8. 2017-06-27. 15951. 10.1038/ncomms15951. 28654082. 5490259. 2017NatCo...815951W.
  11. 10.1007/s12542-014-0233-5. New toxodontid (Notoungulata) from the Early Miocene of Mendoza, Argentina. Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 89. 3. 611–634. 2014. Forasiepi . A. A. M. . Cerdeño . E. . Bond . M. . Schmidt . G. I. . Naipauer . M. . Straehl . F. R. . Martinelli . A. N. G. . Garrido . A. C. . Schmitz . M. D. . Crowley . J. L. . 129293436. 11336/20443 . free .

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