Macrauchenia fossil map
Where fossils of Macrauchenia have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 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 0 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 | Ice Age & later mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 23.04 million years ago to the present (Aquitanian to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Macraucheniidae |
| Named by | Owen 1838 |
| Fossil records | 61 occurrences at 58 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Paraguay |
| Rock formations | txn:43493, Umala, Sopas, Lujan, Dolores, Tarija |
About Macrauchenia
Macrauchenia ("long llama", based on the now-invalid llama genus, Auchenia, from Greek "big neck") is an extinct genus of large ungulate native to South America from the Pliocene or Middle Pleistocene to the end of the Late Pleistocene. It was one of the last surviving members of the extinct order Litopterna, a group of South American native ungulates distinct from the two orders which contain all living ungulates which had been present in South America since the early Cenozoic, over 60 million years ago, prior to the arrival of living ungulates in South America around 2.5 million years ago as part of the Great American Interchange. The bodyform of Macrauchenia has been described as similar to a camel, being one of the largest-known litopterns, with an estimated body mass of around 1 tonne. The genus gives its name to its family, Macraucheniidae, which like Macrauchenia typically had long necks and three-toed feet, as well as a retracted nasal region, which in Macrauchenia manifests as the nasal opening being on the top of the skull between the eye sockets. This has historically been argued to correspond to the presence of a tapir-like proboscis, though recent authors suggest a moose-like prehensile lip or a saiga antelope-like nose to filter dust are more likely.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Macrauchenia (revision 1378696989), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 22 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q139086.
