Toxodontidae
Encyclopedia
Toxodontidae is an extinct family
of notoungulate
mammals known from the Oligocene
through the Pleistocene
of South America, with one genus, Mixotoxodon
, also known from the Pleistocene of Central America. They somewhat resembled rhinoceros
es, and had teeth with high crowns and open roots, suggesting that they often fed on tough pampas grass
. However, isotopic analyses have led to the conclusion that the most recent forms were grazing and browsing generalists.
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...
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:...
mammals known from the Oligocene
Oligocene
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
through the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
of South America, with one genus, Mixotoxodon
Mixotoxodon
Mixotoxodon is an extinct genus of notoungulate of the family Toxodontidae which inhabited South America during the Pleistocene living from 1.8—0.30 Ma and existed for approximately ....
, also known from the Pleistocene of Central America. They somewhat resembled rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
es, and had teeth with high crowns and open roots, suggesting that they often fed on tough pampas grass
Pampas Grass
Cortaderia selloana, commonly known as pampas grass, is a tall grass native to southern South America, including the pampas after which it is named, and Patagonia....
. However, isotopic analyses have led to the conclusion that the most recent forms were grazing and browsing generalists.