Xenorhinotherium


Xenorhinotherium is an extinct genus of macraucheniids, closely related to Macrauchenia of Patagonia. The type species is X. bahiense.

Taxonomy

Some authors place X. bahiense in the genus Macrauchenia (as M. bahiensis, while still others consider it the same species as M. patachonica. The genus name Xenorhinotherium means "Strange-Nosed Beast" and bahiense refers to the Brazilian state of Bahia, where its fossils are found.

Characteristics

X. bahiense was a megafaunal herbivore that probably looked very much like a larger version of Macrauchenia, averaging around 5 meters in length, and was approximately 3 meters in height. In life, X. bahiense that is, vaguely like a very tall, humpless camel with and three toes on each foot, with either a small, tapir or saiga-like trunk or proboscis, or a moose-like nose.

Distribution

Fossils of Xenorhinotherium, dating to the Late Pleistocene, have been found in the states of Bahia, the Jandaíra Formation of Rio Grande do Norte, and Minas Gerais in modern Brazil, and also in Venezuela, in the localities of Muaco, Taima-Taima and Cuenca del Lago.