Anayatherium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Anayatherium | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Notoungulata |
| Family: | †Leontiniidae |
| Genus: | †Anayatherium Shockey 2005 |
| Type species | |
| †Anayatherium ekecoa Shockey, 2005 | |
| Species | |
| |
Anayatherium is an extinct genus of notoungulate belonging to the family Leontiniidae. It lived during the Late Oligocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America.
It was a large-sized and heavy-shaped animal, that could reach the size of a cow. It may have reached a length of 2.5 meters ; its skull was 45 centimeters long, and its weight may have exceeded 350 kilograms.
Anayatherium was characterized by a very short muzzle, compared to other leontiniids. The shortening of the muzzle was reflected in the dentition by the loss of one of the upper teeth, probably a canine. The first upper incisor was larger than the second, as in Scarrittia, while the third and fourth premolars had vertical lingual grooves, as in Leontinia. The second upper incisor was of a typical shape, unlike Leontinia in which it had instead the shape of a canine ; in Anayatherium, the first incisor took the place of the canine. Unlike Scarrittia, the premolars had grooved protocones. The molars were low-crowned (brachydont), and only slightly high-crowned (hypsodont) on the lingual side.
