Guilielmofloweria is an extinct genus of proterotheriid litoptern that lived from the Middle to Late Eocene of what is now Argentina. Fossils have been found in the Sarmiento Formation of Argentina.[1]

Guilielmofloweria
Temporal range: Middle-Late Eocene (Mustersan-Divisaderan)
~48–37 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Litopterna
Family: Proterotheriidae
Genus: Guilielmofloweria
Ameghino 1901
Species:
G. plicata
Binomial name
Guilielmofloweria plicata

Taxonomy edit

Guilielmofloweria was first named in 1901 by Florentino Ameghino based on fragmentary remains found in the Sarmiento Formation of Argentina, in rocks dating back to the Middle Eocene.[2] He originally considered it a member of the pantodont family Pantolambdidae, but recent studies have shown this to be incorrect, as Richard Cifelli considered it as a member of the litoptern family Proterotheriidae, more specifically within the subfamily Anisolambdinae.[3] Anisolambdinae (also called Anisolambdidae in some studies) was proposed to unite the primitive and earlier forms Anisolambda, Eolicaphrium, Heteroglyphis, Lambdaconops, Paranisolambda, Protheosodon, Wainka and Xesmodon. However, the phylogenetic analysis of McGrath and colleagues recovered the included genera to neither form their own clade, or to universally represent basal taxa outside the genera of Proterotheriinae per Soria, making Anisolambdinae a polyphyletic group of unrelated organisms.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ Cifelli, Richard (1985). "Biostratigraphy of the Casamayoran, Early Eocene of Patagonia" (PDF). American Museum Novitates.
  2. ^ Ameghino, Florentino (1901). Notices préliminaires sur des ongulés nouveaux des terrains crétacés de Patagonie.
  3. ^ Cifelli, Richard (1983). "The origin and affinities of the South American Condylarthra and early Tertiary Litopterna (Mammalia). American Museum novitates ; no. 2772". American Museum Novitates. hdl:2246/5256.
  4. ^ Andrew J. McGrath; Federico Anaya; Darin A. Croft (2020). "New proterotheriids (Litopterna, Mammalia) from the middle Miocene of Quebrada Honda, Bolivia, and trends in diversity and body size of proterotheriid and macraucheniid litopterns". Ameghiniana. 57 (2): 159–188. doi:10.5710/AMGH.03.03.2020.3268. S2CID 216236954.