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A new argyrolagoid (Mammalia: Marsupialia) from the middle Miocene of Bolivia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2016

Villarroel A. Carlos
Affiliation:
Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Departamento de Geosciences, Apdo. Aéreo 14490, Bogota
Larry G. Marshall
Affiliation:
Institute of Human Origins, 2453 Ridge Road, Berkeley, California 94709

Abstract

A new argyrolagoid marsupial, Hondalagus altiplanensis n. gen., n. sp., from the middle Miocene (Santacrucian–Friasian) age locality of Quebrada Honda in southernmost Bolivia represents the smallest and most specialized member of the family Argyrolagidae known. The lower molars are hypselodont and lack vertical grooves labially and lingually, and M4 is greatly reduced relative to M3. In overall size and structure, H. altiplanensis compares best with Microtragulus catamarcensis (Kraglievich, 1931) from rocks of late Miocene (Huayquerian) age in northwest Argentina. Hondalagus altiplanensis demonstrates that the adaptive radiation of argyrolagoids was much greater than previously envisioned, and that generic differentiation of known taxa occurred no later than early–middle Miocene time in South America.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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