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Early Cenozoic Mammals in South America

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History of Terrestrial Mammals in South America

Part of the book series: Topics in Geobiology ((TGBI,volume 42))

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Abstract

This is a description of the earliest (Paleocene-Eocene) mammalian assemblages known for the South American Cenozoic. These include complete discussions of the Tiupampan, Peligran, Itaboraian, and Riochican South American Mammal Ages (SALMAs). While the Tiupampan and Peligran SALMAs are the earliest assemblages and are placed in the Paleocene, recent dating places the Itaboraian and Riochican SALMAs in the Early Eocene. These assemblages contain the most ancient mammalian groups, the marsupials and native ungulates. These groups apparently arrived in South America from North America, perhaps in the latter part of the Cretaceous before the beginning of the Cenozoic. These faunas also contain other elements from North America and from the ancient Mesozoic mammalian fauna, which then become extinct in South America through competition with the more advanced northern groups. Several subgroups of marsupials and ungulates make their first appearance, as well as the first xenarthrans. A South American platypus demonstrates the ancient connection of South America to Australia, via Antarctica, and the early metatheres and ungulates exhibit clear connections to North America, though the exact date of their arrival and the route taken are not very clear. Nevertheless, the diversity of these mammals exhibited in the Tiupampan SALMA argues for an early arrival, perhaps even before the K/T boundary.

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  1. Department of Biology, National University of Colombia, Bogota, Bogota, Colombia

    Thomas Defler

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Defler, T. (2019). Early Cenozoic Mammals in South America. In: History of Terrestrial Mammals in South America. Topics in Geobiology, vol 42. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98449-0_3

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