Odd-nose pseudocamels - Macraucheniidsartbyjrc on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/artbyjrc/art/Odd-nose-pseudocamels-Macraucheniids-859262465artbyjrc

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Odd-nose pseudocamels - Macraucheniids

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A selection of litoptern ungulates known as macraucheniids, to scale.
Ungulates or hoofed animals make up a small proportion of the current fauna of South America (tapirs, peccaries, camelids and deer) and all are descendants of a relatively late migration from North America. The Great American Biotic Interchange occured in the Late Pliocene when the two Americas finally crashed together leaving a connecting land path for fauna and flora to cross over. However there were hoofed mammals in South America prior to the GABI, and due to their lack of descendants are easily overlooked. Which is a real pity as the meridiungulates are an amazing example of 'splendid isolation' filling the roles of groups absent from South America. I have covered a couple of the notoungulates previously: Southern hooves 1 - Toxodontids and Southern hooves 2 - Interatheriids, but this post covers a family from the second most diverse order, the litopterns.
One of the most iconic species from Late Pleistocene South America was the large camel-like Macrauchenia. The most distinctive feature was the long narrow skull which had a large retracted nasal opening between the eyes, and this is popularly interpreted as housing a trunk in the living animal. Trunks are useful tools for animals with short necks, and this puts the idea at odds with Macrauchenia. Evidence suggests that the nose was probably swollen in a similar manner to moose or saiga. The retracted nostrils were probably a protection from being impaled on tough spiny branches when feeding (giraffe are a less pronounced example). High crowned teeth are indicative of chewing on grass, and thus it appears that Macrauchenia was probably an opportunistic feeder of high and low vegetation. Another unusual feature was the proportions of the legs which were not especially suited for fast running. Instead they were adapted for manoevrability, quick turning probably over broken terrain. One predator that they needed to evade were humans. Some bones have been discovered with cut marks indicative of butchery.
Earlier relatives were very similar, although smaller and had less extreme retracted nostrils. Theosodon closely resembled the living guanaco and was a well known member of Miocene fauna. Compared to Macrauchenia, Theosodon had a nasal opening only halfway down the snout. Specimens of the small Eocene Victorlemoinea have been found in Antarctica as well as South America.

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Garo123456's avatar

Hoping Ludia releases Macrauchenia in ''Jurassic World: The Game''.

Would be placed either in Snow or Savannah type and use either the deer (if placed in Snow type), indricothere (if placed in Savannah type) or unique (if placed in either type) animations.