Pternoconius

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Late Oligocene-Early Miocene (Deseadan-Colhuehuapian)
{{fossil range|27.0|17.5}}

| image =

| image_caption =

| taxon = Pternoconius

| authority = Cifelli and Soria 1983

| type_species = †Pternoconius polymorphoides

| type_species_authority = Cifelli and Soria 1983

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision =

P. tournoueri Soria and Hoffstetter 1985
P. bondi L. Cheme-Arriaga et al. 2016
P. polymorphoides Cifelli and Soria 1983

}}

Pternoconius is an extinct genus of macraucheniid litoptern from the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene of Argentina. Fossils of this genus have been found in the Sarmiento Formation of Argentina.

Etymology

The genus name, Pternoconius, is a near-anagram of the closely related genus Coniopternium. The species name refers to the similarity of the Eocene genus Polymorphis.{{Cite journal |last1=Cifelli |first1=Richard L. |last2=Soria |first2=Miguel F. |date=1983 |title=Notes on Deseadan Macraucheniidae |url=https://ameghiniana.org.ar/index.php/ameghiniana/article/view/1799 |language=es |volume=20 |issue=1–2 |pages=141–153|journal=Ameghiniana|issn=1851-8044}}

Species

= ''Pternoconius tournoueri'' =

In 1985, fossils found in the Early Miocene Colhué Huapí Member of the Sarmiento Formation were assigned to the genus under the name Pternoconius tournoueri, consisting of a nearly complete hemimandible.{{Cite journal |last1=Soria (h) |first1=Miguel Fernando |last2=Hoffstetter |first2=Robert |date=1985 |title=Pternoconius tournoueri, nueva especie de Macraucheniidae (Mammalia; Litopterna) de edad Colhuehuapense (Oligoceno Tardio); Pcia. Del Chubut, República Argentina |journal=Ameghiniana |url=https://ameghiniana.org.ar/index.php/ameghiniana/article/view/1758 |language=es |volume=22 |issue=3–4 |pages=149–158 |issn=1851-8044}}

= ''Pternoconius bondi'' =

In 2016 a new species of macraucheniid litoptern was described coming from the Bajada del Diablo locality in the Sarmiento Formation, consisting of the anterior portion of the skull with the maxillary region, some fragments of nasal bones, a small portion of the left zygomatic process, and most of the upper dentition (i.e., left P2–M3, right C, and right P1–M3). The species was named after Mariano Bond, in recognition of his contributions to the knowledge of South American native ungulates.{{Cite journal |last1=Cheme-Arriaga |first1=Lucas |last2=Dozo |first2=MarÍa Teresa |last3=Gelfo |first3=Javier N. |date=2016-11-01 |title=A new Cramaucheniinae (Litopterna, Macraucheniidae) from the early Miocene of Patagonia, Argentina |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2017.1229672 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=36 |issue=6 |pages=e1229672 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2017.1229672 |bibcode=2016JVPal..36E9672C |s2cid=88586687 |issn=0272-4634|hdl=11336/30386 |hdl-access=free }}

Classification

Pternoconius is a member of the subfamily Cramaucheniinae within the family Macraucheniidae. Phylogenetic analyses of the family in 2014 and 2018 found that Cramaucheniinae is a paraphyletic group and that Theosodon is a sister clade to the subfamily Macraucheniinae, the least primitive members of the family.{{cite journal|last1=Schmidt|first1=Gabriela I.|last2=Ferrero|first2=Brenda S.|date=September 2014|title=Taxonomic Reinterpretation of Theosodon hystatus Cabrera and Kraglievich, 1931 (Litopterna, Macraucheniidae) and Phylogenetic Relationships of the Family|journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology|volume=34|issue=5|pages=1231–1238|doi=10.1080/02724634.2014.837393|bibcode=2014JVPal..34.1231S |s2cid=86091386 |hdl=11336/18953|hdl-access=free}}

{{Barlabel

|size=18

|at1=4|label1=Cramaucheniinae|bar1=green

|at2=13|label2=Macraucheniinae|bar2=purple

|cladogram=

{{clade| style=font-size:100%; width:auto;

|1={{cladex

|1=Proadiantus

|2={{cladex

|1=Tricoelodus

|2={{cladex

|1=Polymorphis|barbegin1=green

|2={{cladex

|1=Pternoconius|bar1=green

|2=Coniopternium|bar2=green

|3=Cramauchenia|bar3=green

|4={{cladex

|1=Theosodon|barend1=green

|2={{cladex

|1=Scalabrinitherium|barbegin1=purple

|2={{cladex

|1=Oxyodontherium|bar1=purple

|2={{cladex

|1=Huayqueriana|bar1=purple

|2={{cladex

|1={{cladex

|1=Paranauchenia denticulata|bar1=purple

|2=Paranauchenia hystatus|bar2=purple

}}

|2={{cladex

|1=Cullinia|bar1=purple

|2={{cladex

|1=Promacrauchenia|bar1=purple

|2={{cladex

|1=Windhausenia|bar1=purple

|2=Xenorhinotherium|bar2=purple

|3={{cladex

|1=Macraucheniopsis|bar1=purple

|2=Macrauchenia|barend2=purple

}}

The results of McGrath et al. 2018 are shown below.{{Cite journal|author1=Andrew J. McGrath |author2=Federico Anaya |author3=Darin A. Croft |author7=Tassos Kotsakis |year=2018 |title=Two new macraucheniids (Mammalia: Litopterna) from the late middle Miocene (Laventan South American Land Mammal Age) of Quebrada Honda, Bolivia |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=e1461632 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2018.1461632 |bibcode=2018JVPal..38E1632M |s2cid=89881990 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Two_new_macraucheniids_Mammalia_Litopterna_from_the_late_middle_Miocene_Laventan_South_American_Land_Mammal_Age_of_Quebrada_Honda_Bolivia/6392447 |url-access=subscription }}

{{clade|style=font-size:100%; line-height:100%

|1={{clade

|1=Proadiantus excavatus

|2={{clade

|1=Tricoelodus spp.

|label2=Macraucheniidae

|2={{clade

|1=Polymorphis lechei

|3={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Pternoconius spp.

|2=Cramauchenia normalis