Sudamerica fossil map
Where fossils of Sudamerica 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 | 66–37.71 million years ago (Danian to Bartonian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Sudamericidae |
| Named by | Scillato-Yane and Pascual 1984 |
| Fossil records | 6 occurrences at 2 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Argentina, Antarctica |
| Rock formations | Salamanca, La Meseta |
About Sudamerica
Sudamericidae is a family of gondwanathere mammals that lived during the late Cretaceous to Miocene. Its members include Lavanify and Vintana from the Cretaceous of Madagascar, Bharattherium (=Dakshina) from the Cretaceous of India, Gondwanatherium from the Cretaceous of Argentina, Sudamerica from the Paleocene of Argentina, and unnamed forms from the Eocene of Antarctica (closely related to Sudamerica) and Cretaceous of Tanzania. More recently, Patagonia, a mammal from the Colhuehuapian stage of the Miocene of southern South America, has been suggested to be a sudamericid.
Vintana is one of the most complete gondwanathere remains, and offers an insight to the anatomy and habits of sudamericids as a whole. It possesses massive lateral flanges in its skull, and bears massive olfactory bulbs. At 20 pounds (9.1 kg), it is one of the largest Mesozoic mammals known.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Sudamericidae (revision 1283168653), 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: Q3774822.
