Mesolicaphrium

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mesolicaphrium
Temporal range: Middle Miocene (Laventan)
~14–12 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Litopterna
Family: Proterotheriidae
Genus: Mesolicaphrium
McGrath et al., 2020[1]
Species:
M. sanalfonense
Binomial name
Mesolicaphrium sanalfonense
(Cifelli & Guerrero, 1997)
Synonyms

Mesolicaphrium is a genus of extinct litoptern from the late middle Miocene of southern Colombia. It was named in 2020 by Andrew McGrath and colleagues, for the species previously classified as Prolicaphrium sanalfonensis from the La Victoria and Villavieja Formations of the Honda Group, Colombia. The type species is M. sanalfonense, known from the jaw symphysis and two right mandibular rami, and teeth. Mesolicaphrium is derived from the similarity to the names Prolicaphrium and Neolicaphrium, and being in between both taxa in age. The taxon was recovered in a phylogenetic analysis as the sister taxon of Diplasiotherium, closely related to Olisanophus.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b McGrath, A.J.; Anaya, F.; Croft, D.A. (2020). "New proterotheriids (Litopterna, Mammalia) from the middle Miocene of Quebrada Honda, Bolivia, and trends in diversity and body size of proterotheriid and macraucheniid litopterns". Ameghiniana. 57 (2): 159–188. doi:10.5710/AMGH.03.03.2020.3268. S2CID 216236954.