Macrauchenia
Encyclopedia
Macrauchenia was a long-necked and long-limbed, three-toed South America
n ungulate
mammal
, typifying the order Litopterna
. The oldest fossils date back to around 7 million years ago, and M. patagonica disappears from the fossil record during the late Pleistocene
, around 20,000 years ago. M. patagonica was the best known member of the family Macraucheniidae
, and is known only from fossil
finds in South America
, primarily from the Lujan Formation in Argentina
. The original specimen was discovered by Charles Darwin
during the voyage of the Beagle. In life, Macrauchenia resembled a humpless camel with a short trunk, though it is not closely related to either camels or proboscidea
ns.
epoch). It is likely that Macrauchenia arose from either Theosodon
or Promacrauchenia. Notoungulata
and Litopterna
were two ancient orders of ungulates which only occurred in South America. Many of these species became extinct through competition with invading North American ungulates during the Great American Interchange
, after the establishment of the Central America
n land bridge. A few survivors of this invasion were the litopterns Macrauchenia and Xenorhinotherium
and the large notungulates Toxodon
and Mixotoxodon
. These last original South American hoofed animals died out eventually at the time of the arrival of humans at the end of the Pleistocene, along with numerous other large animals on the American continent (such as American elephant
s, horse
s, camel
s, saber-toothed cat
s and ground sloth
s). As this genus was the last of the litopterns, its extinction ended that line of mammals.
Macrauchenia had a somewhat camel
-like body, with sturdy legs, a long neck and a relatively small head. Its feet, however, more closely resembled those of a modern rhinoceros
, and had three hoofs each. It was a relatively large animal, with a body length of around 3 metres (9.8 ft).
One striking characteristic of Macrauchenia is that, unlike most other mammals, the openings for nostrils on its skull were atop the head, leading some early scientists to believe that, much like a whale
, it used these nostrils as a form of snorkel. Soon after some more recent findings, this theory was rejected. An alternative theory is that the animal possessed a trunk, perhaps to keep dust out of the nostrils.
One insight into Macrauchenias habits is that its ankle joints and shin bones may indicate that it was adapted to have unusually good mobility, being able to rapidly change direction when it ran at high speed. It is speculated that since Macrauchenia lived in an environment much like the savanna
s of modern-day Africa, it may have had a tawny coat to match the color of dried grass.
Macrauchenia is known, like its relative, Theosodon
, to have had a full set of 44 teeth.
, as well as analysis of its hypsodont
y index (low in this case; i.e., it was brachydont
), body size and relative muzzle
width suggests that it was a mixed feeder, combining browsing on C3
foliage with grazing on C4
grasses. Scientists believe that, because of the forms of its teeth, Macrauchenia ate using its trunk to grasp leaves and other food. It is also believed that it lived in herds like modern-day wildebeest
or antelope
, the better to escape predators.
, and carnivorous marsupial
s such as Thylacosmilus
and Borhyaena
. During the late Pliocene
/Early Pleistocene, the Panama Isthmus formed, allowing predators of North America
n origin, such as the puma, the jaguar
and the saber-toothed cat
, Smilodon populator, to emigrate into South America and replace the native forms.
It is presumed that Macrauchenia dealt with its predators primarily by outrunning them, or, failing that, kicking them with its long, powerful legs, much like modern-day vicuña
or camel
s. Its potential ability to twist and turn at high speed could have enabled it to evade pursuers.
in Patagonia
(Argentina) by Charles Darwin
, when HMS Beagle
was surveying the port during the voyage of the Beagle
. As a non-expert he tentatively identified the leg bones and fragments of spine he found as "some large animal, I fancy a Mastodon
". In 1837, soon after the Beagle's return, the anatomist Richard Owen
revealed that the bones including vertebrae from the back an neck were actually from a gigantic creature resembling a llama
or camel
, which Owen named Macrauchenia patachonica. In naming it, Owen noted the original Greek terms Μακρος (large or long), and αυχην (neck) as used by Illiger
as the basis of Auchenia as a generic name for the llama, Vicugna
and so on. The find was one of the discoveries leading to the inception of Darwin's theory
. Since then, more Macrauchenia fossils have been found, mainly in Patagonia, but also in Bolivia
, Chile
and Venezuela
.
, and individuals are featured in the 2002 Blue Sky film Ice Age
and its sequel, the 2006 film Ice Age: The Meltdown
. It was included in the simulation game Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection
as part of the Dinosaur Digs Theme Pack and in Wildlife Park 2: Crazy Zoo as a cloneable beast. The related genus Cramauchenia
was named by Florentino Ameghino
as a deliberate anagram of Macrauchenia.
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n ungulate
Ungulate
Ungulates are several groups of mammals, most of which use the tips of their toes, usually hoofed, to sustain their whole body weight while moving. They make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive...
mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
, typifying the order Litopterna
Litopterna
Litopterna is an extinct order of fossil hoofed mammals from the Tertiary period that displays toe reduction. Three-toed, and even a one-toed horselike form developed....
. The oldest fossils date back to around 7 million years ago, and M. patagonica disappears from the fossil record during the late Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
, around 20,000 years ago. M. patagonica was the best known member of the family Macraucheniidae
Macraucheniidae
Macraucheniidae is a family in the Litopterna order of extinct South American ungulates. The recessed nasal bones of their skulls suggest that they may have had a small proboscis, or trunk. Their hooves were similar to those of rhinoceroses today, with a simple ankle joint and three digits on each...
, and is known only from fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
finds in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, primarily from the Lujan Formation in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. The original specimen was discovered by Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
during the voyage of the Beagle. In life, Macrauchenia resembled a humpless camel with a short trunk, though it is not closely related to either camels or proboscidea
Proboscidea
Proboscidea is a taxonomic order containing one living family, Elephantidae, and several extinct families. This order was first described by J. Illiger in 1881 and encompasses the trunked mammals...
ns.
History
Macrauchenia appeared in the fossil record some 7 million years ago in South America (in the MioceneMiocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
epoch). It is likely that Macrauchenia arose from either Theosodon
Theosodon
Theosodon is an extinct genus of litoptern mammal from the early Miocene of South America.Theosodon bore a superficial resemblance the modern guanaco, and was around in length. It had a long neck and tapir-like, three-toed feet...
or Promacrauchenia. Notoungulata
Notoungulata
Notoungulata is an extinct order of hoofed, sometimes heavy bodied mammalian ungulates which inhabited South America during the Paleocene to Pleistocene, living from approximately 57 Ma to 11,000 years ago.-Taxonomy:...
and Litopterna
Litopterna
Litopterna is an extinct order of fossil hoofed mammals from the Tertiary period that displays toe reduction. Three-toed, and even a one-toed horselike form developed....
were two ancient orders of ungulates which only occurred in South America. Many of these species became extinct through competition with invading North American ungulates during the Great American Interchange
Great American Interchange
The Great American Interchange was an important paleozoogeographic event in which land and freshwater fauna migrated from North America via Central America to South America and vice versa, as the volcanic Isthmus of Panama rose up from the sea floor and bridged the formerly separated continents...
, after the establishment of the Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n land bridge. A few survivors of this invasion were the litopterns Macrauchenia and Xenorhinotherium
Xenorhinotherium
Xenorhinotherium , an extinct Brazilian genus in the family Macraucheniidae, was related to Macrauchenia patachonica of Patagonia.-Name:...
and the large notungulates Toxodon
Toxodon
Toxodon is an extinct mammal of the late Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs about 2.6 million to 16,500 years ago. It was indigenous to South America, and was probably the most common large-hoofed mammal in South America at the time of its existence....
and Mixotoxodon
Mixotoxodon
Mixotoxodon is an extinct genus of notoungulate of the family Toxodontidae which inhabited South America during the Pleistocene living from 1.8—0.30 Ma and existed for approximately ....
. These last original South American hoofed animals died out eventually at the time of the arrival of humans at the end of the Pleistocene, along with numerous other large animals on the American continent (such as American elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s, horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
s, saber-toothed cat
Saber-toothed cat
Saber-toothed cat or Sabre-toothed cat refers to the extinct subfamilies of Machairodontinae , Barbourofelidae , and Nimravidae as well as two families related to marsupials that were found worldwide from the Eocene Epoch to the end of the Pleistocene Epoch ,...
s and ground sloth
Ground sloth
Ground sloths are a diverse group of extinct sloths, in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. Their most recent survivors lived in the Antilles, where it has been proposed they may have survived until 1550 CE; however, the youngest AMS radiocarbon date reported is 4190 BP, calibrated to c. 4700 BP...
s). As this genus was the last of the litopterns, its extinction ended that line of mammals.
Anatomy
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
-like body, with sturdy legs, a long neck and a relatively small head. Its feet, however, more closely resembled those of a modern rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
, and had three hoofs each. It was a relatively large animal, with a body length of around 3 metres (9.8 ft).
One striking characteristic of Macrauchenia is that, unlike most other mammals, the openings for nostrils on its skull were atop the head, leading some early scientists to believe that, much like a whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
, it used these nostrils as a form of snorkel. Soon after some more recent findings, this theory was rejected. An alternative theory is that the animal possessed a trunk, perhaps to keep dust out of the nostrils.
One insight into Macrauchenias habits is that its ankle joints and shin bones may indicate that it was adapted to have unusually good mobility, being able to rapidly change direction when it ran at high speed. It is speculated that since Macrauchenia lived in an environment much like the savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
s of modern-day Africa, it may have had a tawny coat to match the color of dried grass.
Macrauchenia is known, like its relative, Theosodon
Theosodon
Theosodon is an extinct genus of litoptern mammal from the early Miocene of South America.Theosodon bore a superficial resemblance the modern guanaco, and was around in length. It had a long neck and tapir-like, three-toed feet...
, to have had a full set of 44 teeth.
Diet and behavior
Macrauchenia was an herbivore, likely living on leaves from trees or grasses. Carbon isotope analysis of M. patagonicas tooth enamelTooth enamel
Tooth enamel, along with dentin, cementum, and dental pulp is one of the four major tissues that make up the tooth in vertebrates. It is the hardest and most highly mineralized substance in the human body. Tooth enamel is also found in the dermal denticles of sharks...
, as well as analysis of its hypsodont
Hypsodont
Hypsodont dentition is characterized by high-crowned teeth and enamel which extends past the gum line. This provides extra material for wear and tear. Some examples of animals with hypsodont dentition are cows, horses and deer; all animals that feed on gritty, fibrous material. The opposite...
y index (low in this case; i.e., it was brachydont
Brachydont
Brachydont is a type of dentition characterized by low-crowned teeth, as opposed to high-crowned, hypsodont teeth. Human teeth are brachydont.-External links:*http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/topics/mammal_anatomy/tooth_diversity.html...
), body size and relative muzzle
Snout
The snout, or muzzle, is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw.-Terminology:The term "muzzle", used as a noun, can be ambiguous...
width suggests that it was a mixed feeder, combining browsing on C3
C3 carbon fixation
carbon fixation is a metabolic pathway for carbon fixation in photosynthesis. This process converts carbon dioxide and ribulose bisphosphate into 3-phosphoglycerate through the following reaction:...
foliage with grazing on C4
C4 carbon fixation
C4 carbon fixation is one of three biochemical mechanisms, along with and CAM photosynthesis, used in carbon fixation. It is named for the 4-carbon molecule present in the first product of carbon fixation in these plants, in contrast to the 3-carbon molecule products in plants. fixation is an...
grasses. Scientists believe that, because of the forms of its teeth, Macrauchenia ate using its trunk to grasp leaves and other food. It is also believed that it lived in herds like modern-day wildebeest
Wildebeest
The wildebeest , also called the gnu is an antelope of the genus Connochaetes. It is a hooved mammal...
or antelope
Antelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
, the better to escape predators.
Predators
When Macrauchenia first arose, it would have been preyed upon by the largest of native South American predators, terror birds such as AndalgalornisAndalgalornis
Andalgalornis was a genus of flightless predatory birds of the family Phorusrhacidae that lived in Argentina. The type and only species is A. steulleti....
, and carnivorous marsupial
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
s such as Thylacosmilus
Thylacosmilus
Thylacosmilus was a genus of sabre-toothed metatherian predators that first appeared during the Miocene. Remains of the animal have been found in parts of South America, primarily Argentina...
and Borhyaena
Borhyaena
Borhyaena is an extinct genus of South American metatherian, living between 20 and 15 million years ago.Borhyaena was a large, bear-like marsupial predator of up to long and with an estimated average weight of . A typical borhyaenid, it had flat feet and a heavy build...
. During the late Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
/Early Pleistocene, the Panama Isthmus formed, allowing predators of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n origin, such as the puma, the jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
and the saber-toothed cat
Saber-toothed cat
Saber-toothed cat or Sabre-toothed cat refers to the extinct subfamilies of Machairodontinae , Barbourofelidae , and Nimravidae as well as two families related to marsupials that were found worldwide from the Eocene Epoch to the end of the Pleistocene Epoch ,...
, Smilodon populator, to emigrate into South America and replace the native forms.
It is presumed that Macrauchenia dealt with its predators primarily by outrunning them, or, failing that, kicking them with its long, powerful legs, much like modern-day vicuña
Vicuña
The vicuña or vicugna is one of two wild South American camelids, along with the guanaco, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the llama, and is now believed to share a wild ancestor with domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their fibre...
or camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
s. Its potential ability to twist and turn at high speed could have enabled it to evade pursuers.
Fossil evidence
Macrauchenia was first discovered on 9 February 1834 at Port St JulianPuerto San Julián
Puerto San Julián, also known historically as Port St Julian, is a natural harbour in Patagonia in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina located at . In the days of sailing ships it formed a stopping point, south of Puerto Deseado...
in Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
(Argentina) by Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, when HMS Beagle
HMS Beagle
HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames, at a cost of £7,803. In July of that year she took part in a fleet review celebrating the coronation of King George IV of the United Kingdom in which...
was surveying the port during the voyage of the Beagle
Second voyage of HMS Beagle
The second voyage of HMS Beagle, from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836, was the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle, under captain Robert FitzRoy who had taken over command of the ship on its first voyage after her previous captain committed suicide...
. As a non-expert he tentatively identified the leg bones and fragments of spine he found as "some large animal, I fancy a Mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
". In 1837, soon after the Beagle's return, the anatomist Richard Owen
Richard Owen
Sir Richard Owen, FRS KCB was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist.Owen is probably best remembered today for coining the word Dinosauria and for his outspoken opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
revealed that the bones including vertebrae from the back an neck were actually from a gigantic creature resembling a llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
or camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
, which Owen named Macrauchenia patachonica. In naming it, Owen noted the original Greek terms Μακρος (large or long), and αυχην (neck) as used by Illiger
Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger
Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger was a German entomologist and zoologist.Illiger was the son of a merchant in Brunswick. He studied under the entomologist Johann Hellwig, and later worked on the zoological collections of Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg...
as the basis of Auchenia as a generic name for the llama, Vicugna
Vicuña
The vicuña or vicugna is one of two wild South American camelids, along with the guanaco, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the llama, and is now believed to share a wild ancestor with domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their fibre...
and so on. The find was one of the discoveries leading to the inception of Darwin's theory
Inception of Darwin's theory
The inception of Darwin's theory occurred during an intensively busy period which began when Charles Darwin returned from the survey voyage of the Beagle, with his reputation as a fossil collector and geologist already established...
. Since then, more Macrauchenia fossils have been found, mainly in Patagonia, but also in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
.
Cultural references
Macrauchenia is featured in the episode "Saber-tooth" of the documentary Walking with BeastsWalking with Beasts
Walking with Beasts is a 2001 six-part television documentary miniseries, produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom, narrated by Kenneth Branagh. In North America it has been retitled Walking with Prehistoric Beasts, and the original Discovery Channel broadcast was narrated by Stockard Channing...
, and individuals are featured in the 2002 Blue Sky film Ice Age
Ice Age (film)
Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated film created by Blue Sky Studios and released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. The story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human baby to its parents...
and its sequel, the 2006 film Ice Age: The Meltdown
Ice Age: The Meltdown
Ice Age: The Meltdown, also known as Ice Age 2: The Meltdown or simply as Ice Age 2, is the 2006 sequel to the 2002 computer-animated film Ice Age. It was produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20th Century Fox, and premiered in Belgium on March 1, 2006...
. It was included in the simulation game Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection
Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection
Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection is a video game of the Zoo Tycoon series. The game is a compilation of Zoo Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania and Zoo Tycoon: Dinosaur Digs...
as part of the Dinosaur Digs Theme Pack and in Wildlife Park 2: Crazy Zoo as a cloneable beast. The related genus Cramauchenia
Cramauchenia
Cramauchenia is a member of the litoptern order of South American mammals. Cramauchenia was named by Florentino Ameghino. The name has no literal translation. Instead, it is an anagram of the name of a related genus Macrauchenia....
was named by Florentino Ameghino
Florentino Ameghino
Florentino Ameghino was an Argentine naturalist, paleontologist, anthropologist and zoologist.Born in Luján, son of Italian immigrants, Ameghino was a self-taught naturalist, and focused his study on the lands of the southern Pampas...
as a deliberate anagram of Macrauchenia.
External links
- An artist's rendition of a Macrauchenia. Retrieved from the Red Académica Uruguaya megafauna page.
