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Extinct genus of mammals From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wainka is an extinct genus of South American mammal, belonging to the order Litopterna. It lived during the Middle Paleocene.
Wainka Temporal range: Middle Paleocene ~ | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | †Litopterna |
Family: | †Proterotheriidae |
Subfamily: | †Anisolambdinae |
Genus: | †Wainka Simpson 1935 |
Type species | |
†Wainka tshotshe Simpson, 1935 | |
Species | |
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This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (May 2022) |
This animal is only known for a few teeth. The upper molars were almost triangular in shape, elongated, and possessed a rather massive paracone and metacone, more developed than other contemporary South American ungulates such as Anisolambda ; the upper molars were devoid of mesostyle.
With some doubts, Wainka has also been attributed a lower molar with well-marked ridges.
Wainka tshotshe was first described in 1935 by George Gaylord Simpson, based on an upper and lower molar, the latter of dubious attribution, from the Middle Paleocene of Cerro Redondo, Argentina. This animal has been attributed to various families of South American ungulates, such as the Notonychopidae and Proterotheriidae. Regardless, Wainka was a basal form and it is very likely that it was an early litoptern. Its real affinities are still unclear. Other litopterns from approximately the same age are Notonychops and Requisia.
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