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Kuntinaru
Taxonomy
Kuntinaru was named by Billet et al. (2011).
It was assigned to Tolypeutinae by Billet et al. (2011).
It was assigned to Tolypeutinae by Billet et al. (2011).
Species
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Kuntinaru Billet et al. |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| G. Billet et al. 2011 | Kuntinaru is a member of the Tolypeutinae because it exhibits the following tolypeutine apomorphies: a vertical anterior edge of the orbit and a surface anterior to the postglenoid foramen elongated antero-posteriorly, not delimited posteriorly by a line continuous with the lateral edge of the zygomatic arch; Kuntinaru differs from all armadillos by the presence of a thick crest anterolateral to the middle-ear cavity; differs from extant tolypeutines in possessing the following plesiomorph features: an infra- orbital foramen approximated to the anterior root of the zygomatic arch and a well-marked orbital muscular crest; differs from Cabassous and Priodontes in possessing the following plesiomorph features: a distinct antorbital depression and crest for nasolabialis muscle insertion, and a stylomastoid foramen medial to the paroccipital process of petrosal and not posteromedial; differs from the early-diverging euphractine Prozaedyus by the toly- peutines apomorphies cited above and in possessing thefollowing plesiomorph features: straight entopterygoid crests in line with the tooth rows, and posterior part of the palate flat; differs from earlier-diverging cingulates like Peltephilus and Stegotherium in exhibiting notably the following apomorphies uniting tolypeutines, euphractines and glyptodontoids (in addition to the tolypeutine apomorphies already mentioned above): a sinuous zygomatic arch profile in lateral view and a notch/ depression in the medial internal wall of the occipital con- dyles; and differs further from Peltephilus in having a highly situated glenoid fossa.
The following description provides only some impor- tant characters in Kuntinaru (more is provided in the electronic supplementary material, S1 and S2). On the rostrum, the infraorbital foramen is bordered posterodorsally by a faint crest sloping backwards. This crest runs from the medial edge of the anterior zygomatic root and is directed towards the nasals’ posterior extremities. It is present and well-developed in most armadillos, but generally weak in Tolypeutes, as in Kuntinaru, and absent in Cabassous and Priodontes. Below this crest, the development of the antorbital depression (or fossa) is reduced in these latter taxa, as well as, to some extent, in Kuntinaru. The location of the infraorbital foramen relative to the anterior root of the zygomatic arch is also noteworthy. In Kuntinaru, and in most armadillos, it opens close to the anterior root of the zygomatic arch, whereas it is more anterior in Tolypeutes, Cabassous and Priodontes. The facial area anterior to the orbit, especially the lacrimal, is oriented vertically in Kuntinaru and is perpendicular to the frontal roof (figure 1c). This is also true in Tolypeutes, Cabassous and Priodontes, but not in the other armadillos, where the facial surface of the lacrimal is oblique. From an anterior perspective, this feature is associated with a vertical orientation of the anterior edge of the orbit in both extant Tolypeutinae and Kuntinaru. The anterior edge of the orbit is not fully preserved in Kuntinaru skulls but it clearly appears that the anterior edge of the orbit had a vertical orientation considering the vertical orientation of the lacrimal and the strictly ventral connection (not ventrolateral) of the anterior zygomatic root with the face. The entopterygoid crests are straight and aligned with the tooth rows in Kuntinaru (figure 1f ). In fact, in arma- dillos there are different shapes in the direction of the posterolateral line of the palate from the most posterior tooth up to the anterolateral border of the entopterygoid crests. This line is straight, more or less anteroposterior and aligned with the tooth rows in Tolypeutes, Cabassous (except Cabassous centralis), Priodontes, Dasypus, Stegother- ium and Eutatus, but also in extant sloths, whereas it is much more concave and oblique, directed medially backwards, in the extant euphractines and Prozaedyus. The palate is flat posteriorly in Kuntinaru, a condition found in the extant Tolypeutinae and Dasypodinae, which contrasts with the concavity observed in the extant euphractines, Prozaedyus, Proeutatus and the glyptodont Propalaeohoplophor us. In the orbitotemporal fossa, Kuntinaru exhibits a ridge continuous with the posterior edge of the sphenorbital fis- sure anteroventrally, like extant tolypeutines. This ridge defines the lateral wall of a deep gutter running forward up to the sphenopalatine foramen (figure 1e). Thisregion is damaged (i.e. distorted) in Kuntinaru, but remnants of such a crest are clearly present. While flattened, we observed that the glenoid surface in Kuntinaru is barely longer than it is wide, but clearly less elongated than in Cabassous, Tolypeutes and Priodontes (figure 1d). It is also different from Euphractus, Chaetophractus, Dasypus and Zaedyus, in which glenoid width is greater than its length. Anterior to the post-glenoid foramen, the glenoid surface of Euphractus, Chaetophractus, Dasypus and Zaedyus is delimited backwards by a low crest continuous with the lateral edge of the zygomatic arch. Such a crest is absent in Kuntinaru and extant tolypeutines. The auditory region of Kuntinaru is very well preserved and delivers a wealth of anatomical information that is detailed and illustrated in the electronic supplementary material, S1 and S2. Among the observations made therein, it can be pointed out here that Kuntinaru presents an overall auditory region especially reminiscent of Tolypeutes: a likely absence of a well-ossified bulla, like, notably, in tolypeutines and dasypodines; an elongated epitympanic wing on the petrosal, greatly resembling Tolypeutes, Cabassous and the glyptodontoids; a well- marked crest bordering laterally the postglenoid foramen as in Tolypeutes; and a wide and shallow epitympanic recess as in Tolypeutes and Priodontes. However, the two latter characters could unfortunately not be checked in many armadillos and should therefore be considered here as suggestive rather than definite support for exclusive resemblance of the auditory region of Kuntinaru with that of some tolypeutines. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Lillegraven 1979, Nowak 1991, Ji et al. 2002, Hendy et al. 2009, Carroll 1988 | |||||