Notostylops
Extinct genus of mammals
Notostylops ("south pillar face") is a genus of extinct South American notoungulates from Eocene Argentina. Fossils of the genus have been found in the Sarmiento, Casamayor, Andesitas Huancache and Koluel Kaike Formations.
01Description
Notostylops was a very generalised animal, very similar to the first eutherians and ungulates. It would have superficially resembled a marmot or a wombat and is suspected to have browsed on low-growing plants. It was probably adapted to a fairly wide range of ecological niches, but its robustness indicates it had some digging adaptations. Its tall skull housed rodent-like incisor teeth. Notostylops incisors lacked complex, decussating enamel prisms, instead possessing radial enamel. The endocast of N. murinus had a volume of 9,807 mm3, with the volume of the olfactory bulbs being 629 mm3. Notostylops had a degree of cranial flexure of 34˚. Notostylops was about 75 centimetres (30 in) long.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Notostylops”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Notostylops.JPG by Ameghino, Florentino, Public domain
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.