Sparassodonta.html



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Sparassodonta Fossil range: Paleocene-Pleistocene
Thylacosmilus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Marsupialia Order: †Sparassodonta Ameghino, 1894
Families
†Mayulestidae †Hathliacynidae †Borhyaenidae †Proborhyaenidae †Prothylacinidae †Thylacosmilidae

Sparassodonta is an extinct order of carnivorous marsupial mammals native to South America. A number of these marsupial predators closely resemble placental predators that evolved separately on other continents, and are cited frequently as an example of convergent evolution.

They were first described by Florentino Ameghino, from fossils found in the Santa Cruz beds of Patagonia. Genera include Borhyaena, Thylacosmilus, Prothylacinus, Amphiproviverra, etc.

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