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Kraglievichia

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Kraglievichia
Temporal range: Late Miocene-Early Pliocene
~9–4 Ma
Life reconstruction of Kraglievichia paranense.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cingulata
Family: Pampatheriidae
Genus: Kraglievichia
Castellanos, 1927
Type species
Kraglievichia paranense
Species
  • K. carinatum Gois et al 2013
  • K. paranense Ameghino 1883
Synonyms
  • Chlamydotherium paranense Ameghino, 1883

Kraglievichia is an extinct genus of cingulate belonging to the family Pampatheriidae. It lived from the Late Miocene to the Early Pliocene, and its fossilized remains were discovered in South America.[1]

Description

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Kraglievichia looked like an enormous armadillo, with body dimensions comparable or larger than the modern giant armadillo; its skull was 18 centimeters long.[1] Though all pampatheres had semi-flexible segmented shells, the structure of the armor forbade them to curl up like modern armadillos can.[2]

Currently, K. paranense is known from several osteoderms, a left femur, and a well-preserved skull without teeth.[1] K. carinatum is known only from osteoderms.[3] The osteoderms of its carapace are distinctively ornamented with an elevated axial area underlined by two lateral longitudinal depressions.[1][3]

Classification

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The genus Kraglievichia was established in 1927 by Castellanos for a species of fossil cingulate first described in 1883 by Florentino Ameghino as Chlamydotherium.[4] The type species, Kraglievichia paranense, is documented in the fossil records in Argentina and Uruguay. The second species, K. carinatum, was originally classified as a member of Scirrotherium. However, due to the more shallow longitudinal depressions in osteoderms of S. hondaensis as compared to those of "S." carinatum, it was reclassified under Kraglievichia.[3]

Kraglievichia was a member of the family Pampatheriidae, a clade of cingulates very similar to modern armadillos, and closely related to them. Compared to most other pampatheres, Kraglievichia is highly derived due to its anatomy and age. Due to their similarities, Kraglievichia and Scirrotherium form the sister group to Holmesina, though Kraglievichia is less closely related to Holmesina than Scirrotherium is. The following cladogram is modified from Jiménez-Lara 2020:[3]

Kraglievichia paranensis

Kraglievichia carinatum

Scirrotherium hondaensis

Scirrotherium antelucanus

Holmesina floridanus

Holmesina sepentionalis

Holmesina occidentalis

Holmesina paulacoutoi

Holmesina major

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Scillato-Yané, Gustavo J.; Góis, Flávio; Zurita, Alfredo Eduardo; Carlini, Alfredo Armando (2013). "Los Cingulata (Mammalia, Xenarthra) del "Conglomerado osífero" (Mioceno Tardío) de la Formación Ituzaingó de Entre Ríos, Argentina". Publicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina. 14 (1) – via Researchgate.
  2. ^ Vizcaíno, Sergio F.; De Iuliis, Gerardo; Bargo, María S. (1998-12-01). "Skull Shape, Masticatory Apparatus, and Diet of Vassallia and Holmesina (Mammalia: Xenarthra: Pampatheriidae): When Anatomy Constrains Destiny". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 5 (4): 291–322. doi:10.1023/A:1020500127041. ISSN 1573-7055.
  3. ^ a b c d Jiménez-Lara, Kevin (2020-10-01). "Systematic revision and redefinition of the genus Scirrotherium Edmund and Theodor, 1997 (Cingulata, Pampatheriidae): Implications for the origin of pampatheriids and the evolution of the South American lineage including Holmesina". Geobios. 62: 1–21. Bibcode:2020Geobi..62....1J. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2020.07.002. ISSN 0016-6995.
  4. ^ Ameghino, Florentino (1883). Sobre una colección de mamíferos fósiles del Piso Mesopotámico de la formación patagónica : recogidos en las barrancas del Paraná por el Profesor Pedro Scalabrini / por Florentino Ameghino. Buenos Aires : Imprenta de Pablo E. Coni.