New Paleothentid Marsupial from the Middle Miocene of Bolivia

GOIN FJ; SÁNCHEZ VILLAGRA MR; KAY RF; ANAYA DAZA M; TAKAI M

PALAEONTOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2003 vol. 46 p. 307 - 315

0031-0239

Marsupials of the order Paucituberculata had a long Cenozoic history in South America, being their earliest record in the middle Paleocene (Itaboraian Age) of Brazil and southern Argentina. All extant representatives of this order belong to the family Caenolestidae, with only two genera and seven species with a restrict distribution in Andean South America. On the contrary, the fossil record of caenolestoids (excluding Kollpaniinae), is very rich, and three major groups have been recognized: the Caenolestidae, and the more derived, extinct Abderitidae and Palaeothentidae. Paleothentids occur in Oligocene through Miocene rocks from Colombia to southern Argentina and Chile. Most species are known only by dental remains and/or jaw fragments. Here we describe the most complete skull so far known of a paleothentid, belonging to a new species of Acdestis. The skull preserves not only the molars but also the anterior dentition, as well as detailed aspects of the ear region, areas of the anatomy previously unknown in this extinct family of marsupials.