Killik Aike Norte: Santacrucian, Argentina

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Mammalia - Sparassodonta
Sipalocyon gracilis Ameghino 1887
Marshall 1981 2 specimens
AMNH 9254, skull and dentary; PU 15373, skull, postcrania
Prothylacynus patagonicus Ameghino 1891
Marshall 1979 3 specimens
AMNH 9561, maxilla M2-4; BM(NH) M9178, posterior part of dentary with teeth; PU 15700, partial skull and skeleton
Mammalia - Paucituberculata - Pichipilidae
Phonocdromus gracilis Ameghino 1894
Marshall 1982 2 specimens
AMNH 9123, dentary m1-3; 9593, dentary with teeth
Mammalia - Paucituberculata - Palaeothentidae
Acdestis oweni Ameghino 1887
Bown and Fleagle 1993
Mammalia - Microbiotheria - Microbiotheriidae
Microbiotherium acicula (Ameghino 1891)
Marshall 1982 1 specimen
AMNH 9121, dentary p3-m2
Microbiotherium gallegosense n. sp. Sinclair 1906
Marshall 1982 1 specimen
AMNH 9591, dentary p3-m2
Microbiotherium tehuelchum Ameghino 1887
Marshall 1982 1 specimen
PU 15698, skull
Mammalia - Primates - Homunculidae
Homunculus patagonicus Ameghino 1891
Kay et al. 2012 3 specimens
MPM-PV 3502, cranium, from "base of ash level KAN"; MPM-PV 1607, right M1-3, from "KAN ash level"; probably MACN-A 12498, right dentary with i2-m2, original holotype of _Homunculus patagonicus_ but now lost
Killikaike blakei n. gen., n. sp. Tejedor et al. 2006
Mammalia - Panameriungulata - Proterotheriidae
Thoatherium minusculum Ameghino 1887
Cassini et al. 2012
AMNH 9245, cranium
Mammalia - Notoungulata - Toxodontidae
Nesodon sp. Owen 1846
Cassini et al. 2012
AMNH 9510, mandible
Mammalia - Notoungulata
Pachyrukhos moyani Ameghino 1885
Cassini et al. 2012
AMNH 9242, femur, tibia; 9283, cranium, mandible; 9285, ulna, femur; 9481, humerus, ulna
Mammalia - Notoungulata - Interatheriidae
Protypotherium australe (Moreno 1882)
Cassini et al. 2012
AMNH 9286, cranium and mandible
Protypotherium praerutilum Ameghino 1887
Fernández et al. 2023
Interatherium robustum Ameghino 1891
Cassini et al. 2012
AMNH 9284, cranium and mandible; also FMNH P13057 see MacPhee et al. 2021
Interatherium rodens Moreno 1882
Fernández et al. 2023
Mammalia
Stegotherium tauberi n. sp. Gonzalez and Scilalto-Yané 2008
Gonzalez and Scilalto-Yané 2008
nivel KAN 2 (Tauber et al., 2004)
Mammalia - Cingulata - Propalaehoplophoridae
cf. Eucinepeltus sp. (Ameghino 1891)
González Ruiz et al. 2020
MPM PV 17408
Mammalia - Megatheriidae
Prepotherium filholi n. sp. Ameghino 1891
Bargo et al. 2012
AMNH 9573, mandible, type
Mammalia - Megalonychidae
Megalonychidae indet. Gervais 1855
Bargo et al. 2012
AMNH 9249, postcrania
Hapalops sp. Ameghino 1887
Bargo et al. 2012
AMNH 9252, incomplete postcranial skeleton
Reptilia - Theropoda - Phorusrhacidae
Psilopterus lemoinei (Moreno and Mercerat 1891)
Degrange and Tambussi 2011
MPM-PV3649, anterior part of a skull including the upper bill and jugal bar, and part of the interorbital septum; MPM-PV3650, right humerus, right scapula, right femur, both tibiotarsi, right fibula, and both tarsometatarsi, all from the same individual
see common names

Geography
Country:Argentina State/province:Santa Cruz
Coordinates: 51.6° South, 69.5° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:52.2° South, 63.7° West
Basis of coordinate:based on nearby landmark
Geographic resolution:small collection
Time
Period: Neogene Epoch: Miocene
Stage: Burdigalian 10 m.y. bin: Cenozoic 5
Key time interval: Santacrucian
Age range of interval: 17.4 - 16.2 m.y. ago
Stratigraphy
Formation:Santa Cruz Member:Estancia La Costa
Stratigraphic resolution:group of beds
Stratigraphy comments: the fossiliferous tuff yielded 40Ar/39Ar ages of 16.45 +/- 0.14, 16.5 +/- 0.2, and 16.5 +/- 0.3 Ma based on "laser incremental-heating analyses of plagioclase"

Gonzalez and Scilalto-Yané 2008: The Santa Cruz Formation on this site emerges along the canyons of the Gallegos River estuary. Tauber et al. (2004) identified three fossiliferous levels in Killik Aike Norte, so we are not sure of the exact level of provenance of the mentioned findings. It should be noted that the KAN 2 level is the most accessible and rich in fossils; however, a large number of fallen blocks of the upper strata with fossils are also found at this level (Tauber et al., 2005). These authors tentatively correlate the KAN 2 level with the fossil level 6, which emerges in the intertidal zone, in front of Corriguen Aike (Estancia de La Estancia La Costa) and in the southern sector of Cañadón Silva (Tauber, 1994). If this is correct, the origin of the YPM PU 15611, YPM PU 15565 and MPM-PV 1811 materials would not be below the fossiliferous level 6, that is, it would correspond to the higher levels of Protypotherium attenuatum Biozone 1 , in the Estancia La Costa Member (Tauber et al., 2004).
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: tuff
Includes fossils?Y
Lithology description: vitric [volcanic] tuff
Environment:terrestrial indet.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:survey of museum collection
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Metadata
Also known as:Estancia Felton, Felton’s Estancia
Database number:87314
Authorizer:J. Alroy, P. Mannion, J. Zijlstra, J. Carrillo Enterer:J. Alroy, G. Varnham, P. Mannion, M. Kouvari, J. Zijlstra, K. Pino
Modifier:G. Varnham Research group:vertebrate
Created:2009-03-14 20:54:09 Last modified:2022-05-20 04:34:40
Access level:the public Released:2009-03-14 20:54:09
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
29404. M. F. Tejedor, A. A. Tauber, A. L. Rosenberger, C. C. Swisher, III, and M. E. Palacios. 2006. New primate genus from the Miocene of Argentina. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103:5437-5441 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]

Secondary references:

58179 M. A. Abello, E. Ortiz-Jaureguizar, and A. M. Candela. 2012. Paleoecology of the Paucituberculata and Microbiotheria (Mammalia, Marsupialia) from the late Early Miocene of Argentina. In S. F. Vizcaíno, R. F. Kay, M. S. Bargo (eds.), Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia: High-Latitude Paleocommunities of the Santa Cruz Formation 156-172 [J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra]
58223 M. S. Bargo, N. Toledo, and S. F. Vizcaíno. 2012. Paleobiology of the Santacrucian sloths and anteaters (Xenarthra, Pilosa). In S. F. Vizcaíno, R. F. Kay, M. S. Bargo (eds.), Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia: High-Latitude Paleocommunities of the Santa Cruz Formation 216-242 [J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra]
73037 T. M. Bown and J. G. Fleagle. 1993. Systematics, Biostratigraphy, and Dental Evolution of the Palaeothentidae, Later Oligocene to Early-Middle Miocene (Deseadan-Santacrucian) Caenolestoid Marsupials of South America. Memoir (The Paleontological Society) 29:1-76 [P. Mannion/G. Varnham]
58225 A. M. Candela, L. L. Rasia, and M. E. Pérez. 2012. Paleobiology of Santacrucian caviomorph rodents: a morphofunctional approach. In S. F. Vizcaíno, R. F. Kay, M. S. Bargo (eds.), Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia: High-Latitude Paleocommunities of the Santa Cruz Formation 287-305 [J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra]
58224 G. H. Cassini, E. Cerdeño, A. L. Villafañe and N. A. Muñoz. 2012. Paleobiology of Santacrucian native ungulates (Meridiungulata: Astrapotheria, Litoptera and Notoungulata). In S. F. Vizcaíno, R. F. Kay, M. S. Bargo (eds.), Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia: High-Latitude Paleocommunities of the Santa Cruz Formation 243-286 [J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra]
72942 F. J. Degrange and C. P. Tambussi. 2011. Re-examination of Psilopterus lemoinei (Aves, Phorusrhacidae), a late early Miocene little terror bird from Patagonia (Argentina). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 31(5):1080-1092 [P. Mannion/G. Varnham]
84949 M. Fernández, J. C. Fernicola, and E. Cerdeño. 2023. Systematic Revision of Interatherium and Icochilus (Interatheriidae, Notoungulata) from the Santa Cruz Formation (Early To Middle Miocene), Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Ameghiniana 60(3):236-258 [J. Carrillo/K. Pino]
85306 M. Fernández, J. C. Fernicola, and E. Cerdeño. 2023. Systematic revision of the species of Protypotherium (Notoungulata: Interatheriidae) from the Santa Cruz Formation (Early–Middle Miocene), Argentinian Patagonia: a new phylogenetic hypothesis for the Interatheriidae. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society zlad043:1-28 [J. Carrillo/K. Pino]
70052 L. R. Gonzalez and G. J. Scilalto-Yané. 2008. Una nueva especie de Stegotherium Ameghino (Xenarthra, Dasypodidae, Stegotheriini) del Mioceno de la provincia de Santa Cruz (Argentina). Ameghiniana 45(4):641-648 [P. Mannion/M. Kouvari]
73302 L. R. González Ruiz, D. Brandoni, A. E. Zurita, J. L. Green, N. M. Novo, A. A. Tauber, and M. F. Tejedor. 2020. Juvenile Glyptodont (Mammalia, Cingulata) from the Miocene of Patagonia, Argentina: Insights into Mandibular and Dental Characters. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology e1768398:1-14 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion]
58226 R. F. Kay, J. M. G. Perry, M. Malinzak, K. L. Allen, E. C. Kirk, J. M. Plavcan, and J. G. Fleagle. 2012. Paleobiology of Santacrucian primates. In S. F. Vizcaíno, R. F. Kay, M. S. Bargo (eds.), Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia: High-Latitude Paleocommunities of the Santa Cruz Formation 306-330 [J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra]
81723 R. D. E. MacPhee, S. Hernández del Pino, A. Kramarz, A. M. Forasiepi, M. Bond and R. B. Sulser. 2021. Cranial morphology and phylogenetic relationships of Trigonostylops wortmani, an Eocene South American native ungulate. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 449(1):1-183 [P. Mannion/G. Varnham]
57760 L. Marshall. 1982. Systematics of the South American marsupial family Microbiotheriidae. Fieldiana Geology 10:1-75 [J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra]
58324 L. G. Marshall. 1979. Review of the Prothylacyninae, an extinct subfamily of South American "dog-like" marsupials. Fieldiana Geology 3:1-50 [J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra]
58306 L. G. Marshall. 1981. Review of the Hathlyacyninae, an extinct subfamily of South American "dog-like" marsupials. Fieldiana Geology 7:1-120 [J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra]
58202 F. J. Prevosti, A. M. Forasiepi, M. D. Ercoli and G. F. Turazzini. 2012. Paleoecology of the mammalian carnivores (Metatheria, Sparassodonta) of the Santa Cruz Formation (late Early Miocene). In S. F. Vizcaíno, R. F. Kay, M. S. Bargo (eds.), Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia: High-Latitude Paleocommunities of the Santa Cruz Formation 173-193 [J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra]