Carodnia fossil map
Where fossils of Carodnia have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 56 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 56 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 66–48.07 million years ago (Danian to Ypresian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Carodniidae |
| Named by | Simpson 1935 |
| Fossil records | 14 occurrences at 6 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Argentina, Brazil, Peru |
| Rock formations | Peñas Coloradas, Las Flores, Itaboraí, Mogollón |
About Carodnia
Carodnia is an extinct genus of South American ungulate known from the Early Paleocene and Early Eocene of Brazil, Argentina, and Peru.
Carodnia is placed in the order Xenungulata together with Etayoa and Notoetayoa.
Carodnia is the largest mammal known from the Eocene of South America. It was heavily built and had large canines and cheek teeth with a crested pattern like the uintatheres to which it can be related. In life, it would have been a tapir-sized animal. It bore strong resemblances to dinoceratans, although without tusks or ossicones. When George Simpson first described Carodnia, he cited the genus name as being derived from the Tehuelche word for thunder "carodn".
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Carodnia (revision 1362775457), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q3311285.
