Macraucheniidae

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iMacraucheniidae
An artist's impression of a Macrauchenia herd grazing.
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Litopterna Family: Macraucheniidae Gill, 1872

Macraucheniidae is a family branch of the Litopterna orders that, as well as likely being distant relatives of llamas, were all endowed with a small trunk. It is also best known for its most prominent and latest surviving member, Macrauchenia. Like all litopterns, all members of this family eventually became extinct after the collision of North and South America in the Pleistocene. This group includes species such as Macrauchenia and Theosodon. It is probable that its members have lived in large herds, in order to facilitate their reproduction and to prevent predators that included large, preying birds and Smilodons, in the case of the Macrauchenia. They were not well adapted, as their morphology shows, but one of the species within this branch gives credit that they had good notion of direction change. They had three fingers on each foot, similar to that of rhinoceroses.

[edit] Genera

Subfamily Cramaucheniinae

• Caliphrium
• Coniopternum
• Cramauchenia
• Notodiaphorus
• Phoenixauchenia
• Pternoconius
• Theosodon

Subfamily Macraucheniinae

• Cullinia
• Macrauchenia
• Macrauchenidia
• Oxyodontherium
• Paranauchenia
• Macraucheniopsis (=Macrauchenia?)
• Mesorhinus (=Oxyodontherium?)
• Oxyodontherium
• Paranauchenia
• Promacrauchenia (=Macrauchenia?)
• Pseudomacrauchenia (=Promacrauchenia?)
• Scalabrinia (=Scalabrinitherium?)
• Scalabrinitherium
• Windhausenia
• Xenorhinotherium

Subfamily Sparnotheriodontinae

• Decaconus
• Guilielmofloweria
• Megacrodon
• Oroacrodon
• Periacrodon
• Phoradiadius
• Polymorphis
• Victorlemoinea (=Sparnotheriodon?)

[edit] External links

• Phylogeny of Macraucheniidae