Holotype skeleton of M. patachonica (larger) and Phenacodus primaevus (smaller) at American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
†Litopterna
Family:
†Macraucheniidae
Subfamily:
†Macraucheniinae
Genus:
†Macrauchenia Owen, 1838
Type species
†Macrauchenia patachonica
Owen, 1838
Map showing the distribution of Macrauchenia in red, and Xenorhinotherium in yellow, inferred from fossil finds
Macrauchenia ("long llama", based on the now-invalid llama genus, Auchenia, from Greek "big neck") is an extinct genus of large ungulate native to South America from the late Pliocene to the end of the Pleistocene.[1] It is a member of the extinct order Litopterna, a group of South American native ungulates distinct from the two orders which contain all living ungulates which had been present in South America since the early Cenozoic, over 60 million years ago, prior to the arrival of living ungulates in South America around 2.5 million years ago as part of the Great American Interchange.[2] The bodyform of Macrauchenia has been described as similar to a camel,[3] being one of the largest known litopterns, with an estimated body mass of around 1 tonne.[2] The genus gives its name to its family, Macraucheniidae, which like Macrauchenia typically had long necks and three toed feet, as well a retracted nasal region,[1] which in Macrauchenia manifests as the nasal opening being on the top of the skull behind the eye sockets.[4] This has historically been argued to correspond to the presence of a tapir-like proboscis, but some recent authors suggest a moose-like prehensile lip[5] or a saiga antelope-like nose to filter dust[6] are more likely.
Only one species is generally considered valid,[7]M. patachonica, which was described by Richard Owen based on remains discovered by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle.[8]M. patachonica is primarily known from localities in the Pampas, but is known from remains found across the Southern Cone extending as far south as southernmost Patagonia, and as far northeast as Southern Peru. Another genus of macraucheniid Xenorhinotherium was present in northeast Brazil and Venezuela during the Late Pleistocene.[4]
Macrauchenia became extinct as part of the end-Pleistocene extinctions around 12,000 years ago, along with the vast majority of other large mammals native to the Americas.[2]
^ abPüschel, Hans P.; Alarcón-Muñoz, Jhonatan; Soto-Acuña, Sergio; Ugalde, Raúl; Shelley, Sarah L.; Brusatte, Stephen L. (June 2023). "Anatomy and phylogeny of a new small macraucheniid (Mammalia: Litopterna) from the Bahía Inglesa Formation (late Miocene), Atacama Region, Northern Chile". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 30 (2): 415–460. doi:10.1007/s10914-022-09646-0. ISSN 1064-7554.
^ abcCroft, Darin A.; Gelfo, Javier N.; López, Guillermo M. (2020-05-30). "Splendid Innovation: The Extinct South American Native Ungulates". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 48 (1): 259–290. Bibcode:2020AREPS..48..259C. doi:10.1146/annurev-earth-072619-060126. ISSN 0084-6597. S2CID 213737574.
^Defler, Thomas (2019), "The Native Ungulates of South America (Condylarthra and Meridiungulata)", History of Terrestrial Mammals in South America, Topics in Geobiology, vol. 42, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 89–115, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-98449-0_5, ISBN 978-3-319-98448-3, S2CID 91879648, retrieved 2024-01-30
^ abCite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Moyano, Silvana Rocio; Giannini, Norberto Pedro (November 2018). "Cranial characters associated with the proboscis postnatal-development in Tapirus (Perissodactyla: Tapiridae) and comparisons with other extant and fossil hoofed mammals". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 277: 143–147. doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2018.08.005. hdl:11336/86349.
^Blanco, R. Ernesto; Jones, Washington W.; Yorio, Lara; Rinderknecht, Andrés (October 2021). "Macrauchenia patachonica Owen, 1838: Limb bones morphology, locomotory biomechanics, and paleobiological inferences". Geobios. 68: 61–70. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2021.04.006.
^Souza Lobo, Leonardo; Lessa, Gisele; Cartelle, Cástor; Romano, Pedro S. R. (September 2017). "Dental eruption sequence and hypsodonty index of a Pleistocene macraucheniid from the Brazilian Intertropical Region". Journal of Paleontology. 91 (5): 1083–1090. Bibcode:2017JPal...91.1083S. doi:10.1017/jpa.2017.54. ISSN 0022-3360.
^Fernicola, J. C., Vizcaino, S. F., & De Iuliis, G. (2009). The fossil mammals collected by Charles Darwin in South America during his travels on board the HMS Beagle. Revista De La Asociación Geológica Argentina, 64(1), 147-159. Retrieved from https://revista.geologica.org.ar/raga/article/view/1339
Macrauchenia ("long llama", based on the now-invalid llama genus, Auchenia, from Greek "big neck") is an extinct genus of large ungulate native to South...
80–120 kilograms (180–260 lb). Some of the last macraucheniids like Macrauchenia were considerably larger, with body masses around a ton. Adianthidae...
related to Macrauchenia of Patagonia. The type species is X. bahiense. Some authors consider the genus Xenorhinotherium a synonym of Macrauchenia, while all...
Macraucheniidae includes genera such as Theosodon, Xenorhinotherium, and Macrauchenia. Macrauchenia is the best-known and most recent macraucheniid. It became extinct...
Lestodon and Catonyx, the rhinoceros like ungulate Toxodon, the camel-like Macrauchenia, the gomphothere (elephant-relative) Notiomastodon, the equines Equus...
such as the rheas, and extinct ones such as the strange extinct mammal Macrauchenia, which resembled a giant guanaco, a llama relative. Around mid-July,...
closely related to ungulates) Meridiungulata (Collagen sequences found in Macrauchenia and Toxodon indicate this to be the sister taxon to perissodactyls, though...
Toxodon platensis, glyptodonts, ground sloths, and litopterns such as Macrauchenia patachonica. Numerous carnivorous mammals have been found, including...
"small", and auchen meaning "neck", in comparison to its larger relative Macrauchenia. The specific name refers to Bahía Salado, the locality in which the...
the litoptern (another group of indigenous South American ungulates) Macrauchenia found that notoungulates and litopterns were closely related to each...
onca mesembrina, the bear Arctotherium, the superficially camel-like Macrauchenia, the fox-like canid Dusicyon avus and lamine camelids, including the...
"A mitogenomic timetree for Darwin's enigmatic South American mammal Macrauchenia patachonica". Nature Communications. 8: 15951. doi:10.1038/ncomms15951...
highly questionable due to the enamel's lack of collagen; the tibia of Macrauchenia patachonica from the same site has been more precisely dated to a mean...
All remaining Meridiungulata genera Order Litopterna Macraucheniidae Macrauchenia Macraucheniopsis Xenorhinotherium Proterotheriidae Neolicaphrium recens...
"A mitogenomic timetree for Darwin's enigmatic South American mammal Macrauchenia patachonica". Nature Communications. 8: 15951. Bibcode:2017NatCo...815951W...
pictured) Diprotodon optatum "Megalania" (Varanus priscus), Glyptodon Macrauchenia was the last and largest litoptern, an order of extinct South American...
neogeus, the rhinoceros-like ungulate Toxodon, the camel-like ungulate Macrauchenia, and the extinct llama Hemiauchenia. The bones appear to have been deliberately...
sloths. The notoungulates and litopterns had many strange forms, such as Macrauchenia, a camel-like litoptern with a small proboscis. They also produced a...
of phylogenetically young members of the Meridiungulata (specifically Macrauchenia from the Litopterna and Toxodon from the Notoungulata). Both kinship...
lowered in pitch, Embolotherium were voiced by walruses and rhinos, Macrauchenia by donkeys, Indricotherium by bears and rhinoceroses and Chalicotherium...
Film Director Direct-to-video film 2006 Ice Age: The Meltdown Male Macrauchenia Cars Sven 'The Governator'[citation needed] Asterix and the Vikings Cacofonix...
Glossotherium. Some other groups are known, including the unusual litopternans Macrauchenia and Neolicaphrium, notoungulate Toxodon, massive proboscidean Notiomastodon...
reptiles. He also mistakenly described a bovid atlas as belonging to Macrauchenia patachonica. Burmeister was said to be harsh and did not have any close...
Panthera atrox North America; Western South America? 9381-9281 BC MacraucheniaMacrauchenia patachonica Southwestern South America Hunting. 9350 BC Long-nosed...
order Litopterna. While it reached the size of its better known relative Macrauchenia, its constitution was lighter. Remains from the genus have been uncovered...
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