| Notostylops | |
|---|---|
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| Notostylops | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Notoungulata |
| Family: | †Notostylopidae |
| Genus: | †Notostylops Ameghino, 1897 |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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.[1]
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Size comparison of Notostylops murinus with a human. -
Life reconstruction.
Description
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.[2][3] Its tall skull housed rodent-like incisor teeth. Notostylops incisors lacked complex, decussating enamel prisms, instead possessing radial enamel.[4] 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˚.[5] Notostylops was about 75 centimetres (30 in) long.[6]
References
- ^ Notostylops at Fossilworks.org
- ^ Croft, Darin. Horned Armadillos and Rafting Monkeys. Indiana University Press.
- ^ Lorente, Malena; Gelfo, Javier; Lopez, Guillermo (2018). "First skeleton of the notoungulate mammal Notostylops murinus and palaeobiology of Eocene Notostylopidae". Lethaia. 52 (2): 244–259. doi:10.1111/let.12310. S2CID 135127572.
- ^ Filippo, Andréa; Kalthoff, Daniela C.; Billet, Guillaume; Gomes Rodrigues, Helder (13 March 2019). "Evolutionary and Functional Implications of Incisor Enamel Microstructure Diversity in Notoungulata (Placentalia, Mammalia)". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 27 (2): 211–236. doi:10.1007/s10914-019-09462-z. ISSN 1064-7554. Retrieved 31 October 2025 – via Springer Nature Link.
- ^ Perini, Fernando A.; Macrini, Thomas E.; Flynn, John J.; Bamba, Kanvaly; Ni, Xijun; Croft, Darin A.; Wyss, André R. (23 November 2021). "Comparative Endocranial Anatomy, Encephalization, and Phylogeny of Notoungulata (Placentalia, Mammalia)". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 29 (2): 369–394. doi:10.1007/s10914-021-09583-4. ISSN 1064-7554. Retrieved 17 January 2026 – via Springer Nature Link.
- ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-84028-152-1.
Media related to Notostylops at Wikimedia Commons
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