Neolicaphrium recens Frenguelli,1921,the only surviving proterotheriidae (Litopterna, Mammalia) into the south american Pleistocene.

Mariano Bond, Daniel Perea, Martin Ubilla and Adan Tauber

Cite this article: Bond M., Perea D., Ubilla M., Tauber A., 2001. Neolicaphrium recens Frenguelli,1921,the only surviving proterotheriidae (Litopterna, Mammalia) into the south american Pleistocene. Palaeovertebrata 30 (1-2): 37-50.

Abstract

The litoptem Proterotheriidae are extinct endemic South American ungulates frequently used as an example of evolutionary convergence with the horses. They were considered to be exclusively Tertiary representatives with the youngest record being in the late Pliocene, before the appearence of the equids and cervids during the Great American Interchange. Two undoubted Pleistocene records in Argentina and the specimen here described from Uruguay, confirm the persistence of the proterotherids into that period. In the Quaternary, these ungulates are found outside the typical pampean region and probably were confined to a few northern and warmer more forested relictual microhabitats.