| Granastrapotherium Temporal range: Middle Miocene |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
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Fossil
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Placentalia |
| Order: | Astrapotheria † |
| Family: | Astrapotheriidae † |
| Subfamily: | Uruguaytheriinae † |
| Genus: | Granastrapotherium † |
| Species: | G. snorki † |
| Binomial name | |
| Granastrapotherium snorki (Johnson & Madden, 1997) |
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Granastrapotherium is a genus of extinct ungulate mammal described from remains found in rocks of the Honda Group in the desert of Tatacoa[1] in the departments of Huila and Tolima, in Colombia which comprise the fossil site of La Venta, where they surfaced several Miocene vertebrate remains. The only species formally recognized is Granastrapotherium snorki (the generic name adds the Spanish word gran -"great"- to the existing name Astrapotherium, which in turn means "lightning beast", while the specific name adds the English word snorkel, breathing tube, in reference to his trunk). Remains found in Venezuela[2], Bolivia and Peru[3], seem to belong to Granastrapotherium or a very similar animal.
This astrapothere differs from it coeval, the uruguaytheriine astrapotheriid Xenastrapotherium by their larger size, between 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes, with tusks up to one meter in length, making it the largest representative of Astrapotheria. Other differences include the presence of only one premolar, the lack of incisors in both jaws and the disposition of the canine tooth, which are very large and horizontal, so remember much less than those of hippos and more to the tusks of some ancient relatives of elephants (as Palaeomastodon), although the defenses in elephants and their relatives are not formed by the canines but the incisors. Similarly, the nostrils appear skull extremely withdrawn in the skull and are large, so this creature had to have a larger trunk than other astrapotheres; probably, like elephants, this animal using his muscular proboscis together with their tusks to approach the vegetation and cut (which would be mostly leaves of trees and shrubs) for feeding.[4]