Peligrotherium

Peligrotherium
Temporal range: Early Paleocene (Peligran)
~61.7–58.7 Ma
↓
Life restoration and 3D model of skull and mandibles
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Clade: †Meridiolestida
Clade: †Mesungulatoidea
Family: †Peligrotheriidae
Bonaparte et al., 1993
Genus: †Peligrotherium
Bonaparte et al., 1993
Species:
†P. tropicalis
Binomial name
†Peligrotherium tropicalis
Bonaparte et al., 1993

Peligrotherium is an extinct meridiolestidan mammal from the Paleocene of Patagonia, originally interpreted as a stem-ungulate (though it did co-exist with early meridiungulates). Its remains have been found in the Salamanca Formation.[1] It was a dog-sized mammal, among the largest of all non-therian mammals (as well as the largest South American Paleocene mammal[2]). It is a member of Mesungulatoidea, a clade of herbivorous meridiolestidans with molars that had rounded (bunodont) cusps.[3][4]

  1. ^ Peligrotherium at Fossilworks.org
  2. ^ Rougier, Guillermo, Martinelli, Agustin, Forasiepi, Analía M., Mesozoic Mammals from South America and their Forerunners, ISBN 978-3-030-63862-7
  3. ^ Tony Harper; Ana Parras; Guillermo W. Rougier (2018). "Reigitherium (Meridiolestida, Mesungulatoidea) an enigmatic Late Cretaceous mammal from Patagonia, Argentina: morphology, affinities, and dental evolution". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. in press. doi:10.1007/s10914-018-9437-x.
  4. ^ Harper, Tony; Adkins, Caleb; Rougier, Guillermo (2022). "Reconstructed masticatory biomechanics of Peligrotherium tropicalis, a non-therian mammal from the Paleocene of Argentina". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 67. doi:10.4202/app.00912.2021.