Macrauchenia
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| Macrauchenia patachonica Owen, 1838 |
Macrauchenia patachonica was a long-necked and long-limbed, three-toed South American ungulate mammal, typifying the order Litopterna, and existing at least seven million years ago. It belonged to the family Macraucheniidae, and is known only from fossil finds in South America, primarily from the Lujan Formation in Argentina. The original fossil specimen was discovered by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. In life, Macrauchenia resembled a humpless camel with a short trunk, though it is not closely related to either camels or proboscideans.
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[edit] History
Macrauchenia lived 7 million years ago in South America (in the Miocene era), where it lived among other creatures, some of which kept its population in check. It is likely that this species of Macraucheniidae evolved from the species Theosodon. The Notungulata, the Litopterna and the Xenungulata were the three members of the litoptern lineage which only occurred in South America. As this genus was the last of the litopterns, its extinction (hastened by competition with invading North American species after the establishment of the Central American land bridge) ended that line of mammals. Only some types could survive this invasion, the litopterns Macrauchenia and Windhausenia and the large notungulates Toxodon and Mixotoxodon. These last original South American hoofed animals died out eventually at the end of the Pleistocene, with a large number of other animals on the American continent (among other things American elephants, horses, saber-toothed cats and ground sloths). It is, however, suggested that this animal's ancestor was either Theosodon or Promacrauchenia.
[edit] Anatomy
One striking characteristic of Macrauchenia was that, unlike most other mammals, its openings for nostrils on its skull were atop the head, leading some early scientists to believe that, much like a whale, it used these nostrils as a form of snorkel. Soon after some more recent findings, this theory was rejected. One finding on Macrauchenia's physiology was that it had an unusually good mobility, in that it could change direction when it ran. Obviously, since no living member of this species has been seen by man, speculation alone will serve as any indication of what color its coat may have been. Most scientists are inclined to believe that, since Macrauchenia lived in an environment much like modern-day Africa or any other plains of today, it would have had to possess a coat to match its surrounding. On that basis, most scientists think that Macrauchenia had a sandy-colored coat.
[edit] Diet and Behavior
Macrauchenia was an herbivore, likely living on leaves from trees or grasses. Scientists believe that, because of the forms of its teeth, it was an herbivore which ate using its trunk to grasp foodstuffs. With that, it is also speculated, and widely accepted, that it lived in herds not unlike modern-day wildebeests or antelopes, the better to escape predators.
[edit] Predators
As Macrauchenia lived in a period in which an isthmus allowed predators to emigrate into Macrauchenia's territories, it likely faced predators like, the saber-toothed cat, Smilodon populator. Fortunately, for Macrauchenia, its leg power allowed it to easily outmaneuver this predator.
[edit] Fossil Evidence
The first skeleton of Macrauchenia was discovered at the beginning of the nineteenth century by Charles Darwin in Patagonia (Argentina) during his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle. Since then, more fossil Macrauchenia skeletons have been found, mainly in Patagonia, although fossils of Macrauchenia have also been dug up in Bolivia and Venezuela.
[edit] Name
The name Macrauchenia (pronounced MAK-raw-kee-nia), means, in Greek, "long llama", due to it possessing long limbs reminiscent of a llama's limbs.
[edit] Cultural Reference
Several scientifically accurate versions of Macrauchenias are featured in the show Walking with Beasts, and some others are featured in the 2006 Blue Sky film Ice Age: The Meltdown, replacing its taller relative, Xenorhinotherium, from the film's continuity.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] External links
- An artist's rendition of a Macrauchenia. Retrieved from the Red Académica Uruguaya megafauna page.
