Cocatherium fossil map
Where fossils of Cocatherium have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 66 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 66 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 | 66–61.66 million years ago (Danian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Named by | Goin et al. 2006 |
| Fossil records | 2 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Argentina |
| Rock formations | Lefipán |
About Cocatherium
Cocatherium is an extinct genus of marsupial mammals of uncertain family placement, from the earliest Paleocene (early Danian) of South America, predating the Tiupampan South American land mammal age. The genus was described based on a fossil molar that was found in the Danian part of the Cretaceous-Paleogene Lefipán Formation in the Cañadón Asfalto Basin in north-central Patagonia, Argentina. The type species of the genus is C. lefipanum.
The mammal, probably belonging to the Polydolopimorphia, is the oldest known representative of marsupials or any therian mammal in the Southern Hemisphere.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Cocatherium (revision 1267664701), 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: Q21998075.
