Carodnia | |
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Carodnia vieirai | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | †Xenungulata |
Family: | †Carodniidae |
Genus: | †Carodnia Simpson 1935[1] |
Species | |
| |
Synonyms | |
Ctalecarodnia Simpson 1935 |
Carodnia is an extinct genus of South American ungulate known from the Early Eocene of Brazil, Argentina, and Peru.[4] Carodnia is placed in the order Xenungulata together with Etayoa and Notoetayoa.[5]
Carodnia is the largest mammal known from the Eocene of South America. It was heavily built and had large canines and cheek teeth with a crested pattern like the uintatheres to which it can be related.[4] In life, it would have been a tapir-sized animal. It bore strong resemblances to dinoceratans, although without tusks or ossicones. When George Simpson first described Carodnia, he cited the genus name as being derived from the Tehuelche word for thunder "carodn".[6]