Necrolestes fossil map
Where fossils of Necrolestes have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 15 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 15 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 | 23.04–16.3 million years ago (Aquitanian to Burdigalian) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Named by | Ameghino 1891 |
| Fossil records | 8 occurrences at 4 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Argentina |
| Rock formations | Santa Cruz, Sarmiento, Monte Leon |
About Necrolestes
Necrolestes (from Ancient Greek νεκρός (necrós), meaning "dead", and λῃστής (lēistḗs), meaning "robber") is an extinct genus of mammals, which lived during the Early Miocene in what is now Argentine Patagonia. It is the most recent known genus of Meridiolestida, an extinct group of mammals more closely related to therians (marsupials and placentals) than to monotremes, which were the dominant mammals in South America during the Late Cretaceous. It contains two species, N. patagonensis and N. mirabilis; the type species N. patagonensis was named by Florentino Ameghino in 1891 based on remains found by his brother, Carlos Ameghino in Patagonia. Fossils of Necrolestes have been found in the Sarmiento and Santa Cruz Formations. Its morphology suggests that it was a digging, subterranean-dwelling mole-like mammal that fed on invertebrates.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Necrolestes (revision 1378956800), 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: Q75630.
