Archaeopithecidae
Encyclopedia
Archaeopithecidae is an extinct family
comprising two genera
of notoungulate
mammal
s, Acropithecus and Archaeopithecus, both known from the early Eocene
of South America
(McKenna and Bell, 1997).
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
comprising two genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of notoungulate
Notoungulata
Notoungulata is an extinct order of hoofed, sometimes heavy bodied mammalian ungulates which inhabited South America during the Paleocene to Pleistocene, living from approximately 57 Ma to 11,000 years ago.-Taxonomy:...
mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s, Acropithecus and Archaeopithecus, both known from the early Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
(McKenna and Bell, 1997).