Toxodon

Toxodon Temporal range: Pliocene–Holocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skeleton of Toxodon in Buenos Aires
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Notoungulata
Family:	†Toxodontidae
Subfamily:	†Toxodontinae
Genus:	†Toxodon Owen, 1837
Type species
†Toxodon platensis Owen, 1837
Other species
†T. burmeisteri Giebel, 1866 †T. chapalmalensis Ameghino, 1908 †T. ensenadensis Ameghino, 1887 †T. expansidens Cope, 1886 †T. gracilis Gervais and Ameghino, 1880
Synonyms
Genus-level Dilobodon Ameghino, 1886 Chapalmalodon Pascual, 1957 Chapadmalodon Tonni et al., 1992 (lapsus calami) T. platensis T. angustidens Owen, 1846 T. owenii Burmeister, 1866 T. gervaisii Gervais & Ameghino, 1880 T. aguirrei Ameghino, 1917 T. gezi Ameghino, 1917 T. burmeisteri T. paradoxus Ameghino, 1882 T. protoburmeisteri Ameghino, 1887 T. bilobidens Ameghino, 1887 T. chapalmalensis Chapalmalodon chapalmalensis Pascual, 1957 T. chapadmalensis Cione & Tonni, 1995 (lapsus calami) T. chapalmalalensis Oliva & Cerdeno, 2007 (lapsus calami) T. ensenadensis T. giganteus Moreno, 1888 T. elongatus Roth, 1898 T. gracilis T. voghti Moreno, 1888

Toxodon (meaning "bow tooth" in reference to the curvature of the teeth) is an extinct genus of large ungulate native to South America from the Pliocene to the end of the Late Pleistocene.^[1][2] Toxodon is a member of Notoungulata, an order of extinct South American native ungulates distinct from the two living ungulate orders that had been indigenous to the continent for over 60 million years since the early Cenozoic, prior to the arrival of living ungulates into South America around 2.5 million years ago during the Great American Interchange.^[3] Toxodon is a member of the family Toxodontidae, which includes medium to large sized herbivores.^[4] Toxodon was one of the largest members of Toxodontidae and Notoungulata, with Toxodon platensis having an estimated body mass of 1,000–1,200 kilograms (2,200–2,600 lb).^[5]

Toxodon has been found across much of South America, excluding southern Patagonia, the Andes and northeastern-most region of the continent.^[6] Evidence suggests that Toxodon was ecologically plastic and able to adapt its diet to local conditions.^[7]

Toxodon became extinct as part of the end-Pleistocene extinctions around 12,000 years ago, along with most large mammals across the Americas. The extinctions followed the arrival of humans to South America, who may have been a contributory factor in the extinctions.^[3]