South American endemic mammalian predators (order sparassodonta)

Abstract

The Sparassodonta was a clade of mammalian predators that evolved in South America from the early Paleocene (?Tiupampan–Peligran) or early Eocene (Itaboraian) to the early Pliocene (Chapadmalalan). They were a monophyletic group of metatherians closely related to living marsupials (e.g., opossums and kangaroos). Diverse ecological niches presented many opportunities for occupation by different morphotypes (principally defined by body mass and locomotion). The probable diet was hypercarnivorous for about 90% of the nearly 60 currently identified species. Here, we present a synthesis of the systematics, distribution, and paleoecology of the extinct Sparassodonta.