Notopithecidae
Notopithecidae is a family of typotherine notoungulates known from Paleogene deposits of the San Juan Formation, Argentina. The name of the clade derives from an error, Florentino Ameghino assumed the namesake of the family, Notopithecus, was a primate.
| Notopithecidae Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Notopithecus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Notoungulata |
| Suborder: | †Typotheria |
| Family: | †Notopithecidae Ameghino, 1897 |
| Species | |
Notopithecidae is a family of typotherine notoungulates known from Paleogene deposits of the San Juan Formation, Argentina.[1] The name of the clade derives from an error, Florentino Ameghino assumed the namesake of the family, Notopithecus, was a primate.[2]
Description
[edit]Notopithecids had low crowned teeth and relatively underived dentition when compared to later typotheres. They had brachyodont molars. [3] They most likely walked plantigrade, indicated by an astragalar foramen and a shallow and asymmetric trochela.[4]
Classification
[edit]Notopithecidae has had some debate as to whether it is even a valid family, occasionally being placed within Interatheriidae.[5] However, most literature supports Notopithecidae being its own family. [1][3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Scott, William Berryman; Scott, William Berryman (1913). A history of land mammals in the Western Hemisphere; illustrated with 32 plates and more than 100 drawings. New York: Macmillan.
- ^ Hitz, Ralph B.; Hitz, Ralph B.; Flynn, John J.; Wyss, André R. (2006). New basal Interatheriidae (Typotheria, Notoungulata, Mammalia) from the Paleogene of central Chile. New York, NY: American Museum of Natural History.
- ^ a b Scarano, Alejo C.; Vera, Bárbara (2018). "Geometric morphometric analysis as a proxy to evaluate age-related change in molar shape variation of low-crowned Notoungulata (Mammalia)". Journal of Morphology. 279 (2): 216–227. doi:10.1002/jmor.20766. hdl:11336/42192. ISSN 1097-4687.
- ^ Vera, Bárbara (2012). "Postcranial Morphology of Notopithecus Ameghino, 1897 (notoungulata, Interatheriidae) from the Middle Eocene of Patagonia, Argentina". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (5): 1135–1148. ISSN 0272-4634.
- ^ "Mindat.org". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2025-09-05.