Horned Armadillos and Rafting Monkeys

Darin A. Croft is Associate Professor of Anatomy at Case Western Reserve University and a research associate at several museums, including the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. He is an authority on the extinct mammals of South America and has active field programs in the Andes of Chile and Bolivia.Velizar Simeonovski is an artist based in Chicago who specializes in life reconstructions of extinct species and visualizations of ancient landscapes. His works have been featured in scientific journals and magazines, in the book Extinct Madagascar: Picturing the Island's Past, and in museum exhibits in the US and in his home country of Bulgaria.

"Organized as a 'walk through time' and featuring species from 15 important fossil sites, this book is the most extensive and richly illustrated volume devoted exclusively to the Cenozoic mammals of South America."—BirdBooker Report"This handsome book, written by a leading expert in South American paleontology, is profusely illustrated with maps, time charts, color photographs of fossils, and exquisite life reconstructions. The book is accessible to the general reader, and it will appeal to any individual, young and old alike, interested in the fossil record, as well as to students and scholars of paleontology who work in other parts of the globe."—Choice"An expert in fossil mammals from South America, this is Croft's magnum opus on his life's passion."—Twilight Beasts"Given the wealth of unfamiliar animals the volume presents, even readers well versed in vertebrate biodiversity willnd it rewarding."—The Quarterly Review of Biology"It is by far the best and most satisfying book-sized work that looks at South America's extinct fauna so far, and it is unique in its depth of coverage and quality of content. I encourage you to get hold of a copy yourself."—Scientific American Blog Network"All these considerations make this book a great source of information for the non-specialist, and a nice summary for those researchers looking for a synthesis of Cenozoic South American fossil sites."—J Mammal Evol"Horned Armadillos and Rafting Monkeys is an excellent work that will be of interest to anyone that appreciates the extraordinary world of extinct and living mammals, extinction processes, and the loss of biodiversity, and the unique natural history of South America. The combination of scientific information and vivid paleoart reconstructions makes this book a valuable source for an appreciation of these ancient beasts and the ecosystems in which they lived."—Oxford University Press Journals"Well-written and easy for the nonspecialist to understand, this is also a most needed updating of this subject, much in the line of classic works such as Simpson's The Beginning of the Age of Mammals in South America and Patterson and Pascual's The Fossil Mammal Fauna of South America."—Richard Fariña, coauthor Megafauna: Giant Beasts of Pleistocene South America"Horned Armadillos and Rafting Monkeys is a magnificent book, with splendid and exacting illustrations, a necessary update between two covers for specialists as well as for palaeontologists unfamiliar with South America. It is also an accessible book for the educated public. Darin Croft's writing project is unquestionably useful. Velizar Simeonovski has proposed a daunting challenge to the next generation of illustrators."—Ephraim Nissan, Priscum, The Newsletter of the Palentological Society

• PrefaceAcknowledgments1. Time and Geography2. Introduction to MammalsPart I. Early South American Phase and the Trans-Atlantic Dispersal Interval (TADI)3. Tiupampa, Bolivia3.1 Pucadelphys andinus3.2 Mayulestes ferox3.3 Molinodus suarezi3.4 Alcidedorbignya inopinata4. Itaboraí, Brazil4.1 Epidolops ameghinoi4.2 Colbertia magellanica4.3 Protolipterna ellipsodontoides4.4 Carodnia vieirai5. Gran Barranca, Argentina5.1 Sebecus icaeorhinus5.2 Niolamia argentina and Caroloameghinia mater5.3 Utaetus buccatus5.4 Thomashuxleya rostrata5.5 Notopithecus adapinus6. La Gran Hondonada, Argentina6.1 Otronia muhlbergi6.2 Pseudhyrax eutrachytheroides6.3 Puelia plicata6.4 Trigonostylops wortmaniPart II. Late South American Phase7. Tinguiririca, Chile7.1 Klohnia charrieri7.2 Pseudoglyptodon chilensis7.3 Andemys termasi7.4 Santiagorothia chiliensis8. Salla, Bolivia8.1 Paraborhyaena boliviana8.2 Branisella boliviana8.3 Anayatherium fortis8.4 Trachytherus alloxus8.5 Pyrotherium romeroi9. Chucal, Chile9.1 Parapropalaehoplophorus septentrionalis9.2 Peltephilus ferox9.3 Theosodon lallemanti9.4 Nesodon imbricatus9.5 Altitypotherium chucalensis10. Santa Cruz, Argentina10.1 Necrolestes patagonensis10.2 Borhyaena tuberata10.3 Hapalops indifferens10.4 Steiromys duplicatus10.5 Thoatherium minusculum10.6 Interatherium robustum11. La Venta, Colombia11.1 Neotamandua borealis11.2 Cebupithecia sarmientoi11.3 Megadolodus molariformis and Purussaurus neivensis11.4 Miocochilius anamopodus11.5 Granastrapotherium snorki12. Quebrada Honda, Bolivia12.1 Acyon myctoderos12.2 Hondalagus altiplanensis12.3 Guiomys unica12.4 Hemihegetotherium trilobus13. Arroyo Chasicó, Argentina13.1 Protomegalonyx chasicoensis13.2 Prolagostomus and Lycopsis viverensis13.3 Neobrachytherium ullumense13.4 Chasicotherium rothi13.5 Typotheriopsis chasicoensisPart III. The Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) and the Interamerican Phase14. Acre, Brazil14.1 Neoglyptatelus originalis14.2 Thalassocnus natans14.3 Phoberomys burmeisteri14.4 Trigodon15. Catamarca, Argentina15.1 Andalgalornis steulleti15.2 Thylacosmilus atrox15.3 Vassallia maxima and Argentavis magnificens15.4 Pronothrotherium typicum15.5 Cyonasua brevirostris16. Chapadmalal, Argentina16.1 Sparassocynus derivatus16.2 Macroeuphractus outesi16.3 Scelidotherium parodii16.4 Platygonus marplatensis16.5 Paedotherium typicum17. Tarija, Bolivia17.1 Cuvieronius hyodon17.2 Glyptodon reticulatus17.3 Doedicurus clavicaudatus17.4 Megatherium americanum17.5 Protocyon tarijensis and Glossotherium tarijense17.6 Smilodon populator17.7 Onohippidium devillei17.8 Macrauchenia patachonica17.9 Toxodon platensisFurther ReadingAppendix 1. Alphabetical List of SpeciesAppendix 2. List of Families and Higher Taxonomic GroupsAppendix 3. Mammals of Tiupampa, Bolivia Appendix 4. Mammals of Itaboraí, BrazilAppendix 5. Middle Eocene ("Barrancan") Mammals of Gran Barranca, Argentina Appendix 6. Mammals of La Gran Hondonada, ArgentinaAppendix 7. Mammals of Tinguiririca, ChileAppendix 8. Mammals of Salla, BoliviaAppendix 9. Mammals of Chucal, ChileAppendix 10. Mammals of Costal Santa Cruz, Argentina Appendix 11. Mammals of La Venta, ColombiaAppendix 12. Mammals of Quebrada Honda, BoliviaAppendix 13. Mammals of Arroyo Chasicó, ArgentinaAppendix 14. Mammals of Acre (Brazil and Peru)Appendix 15. Mammals of Catamarca, ArgentinaAppendix 16. Mammals of Chapadmalal, ArgentinaAppendix 17. Mammals of Tarija, BoliviaGlossaryIndex