Peligrotherium is an extinct meridiolestidan mammal from the Paleocene of Patagonia, originally interpreted as a stem-ungulate (though it did co-exist with early meridiungulates). Its remains have been found in the Salamanca Formation.Peligrotherium at Fossilworks.org Around the size of a dog, it was among the largest of all non-therian mammals, and the largest non-therian mammal known from South America.Rougier, Guillermo, Martinelli, Agustin, Forasiepi, Analía M., Mesozoic Mammals from South America and their Forerunners, ISBN 978-3-030-63862-7 It is a member of Mesungulatoidea, a clade of herbivorous meridiolestidans with molars that had rounded (bunodont) cusps.Tony Harper; Ana Parras; Guillermo W. Rougier (2018). "Reigitherium (Meridiolestida, Mesungulatoidea) an enigmatic Late Cretaceous mammal from Patagonia, Argentina: morphology, affinities, and dental evolution". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. in press. doi:10.1007/s10914-018-9437-x.
Description The dental formula of Peligrotherium tropicalis was I4?/? C1/1 P3/3 M3/3. Its last premolar was fully molarised, having morphology strongly akin to a molar, as has been suggested for mesungulatoids broadly. The presence of a high cementoenamel junction with a pronounced ridge showing signs of having undergone oral abrasion suggests that the species had a tall, thick gingiva comparable to that of a hippopotamus.
Diet A biomechanical study found Peligrotherium to be a herbivore that was functionally similar to the black rhino.
References
External links Inist Dryolestoids Dryolestida