Mixotoxodon larensis is a genus of extinct notoungulate mammals of the family Toxodontidae that inhabited America during the Pleistocene, living approximately from 1.8 to 0.30 million years ago.
It was an animal similar to today's rhinos, although it was not related to the latter. It survived and prospered during the great American exchange since it was apparently the only specimen of its genus to leave South America and take advantage of new territories when the Isthmus of Panama was formed, even reaching Mexico, as demonstrated by its fossils found in the states of Veracruz. , Michoacán and more recently a record not yet confirmed in the state of Tamaulipas.
This prehistoric-looking beast weighed around 4 tons, 4 meters in length and more than 2 m. tall at the shoulders, it probably occupied a niche similar to that of today's black rhinos, it could feed on the hard and leathery vegetation typical of the areas it inhabited: savanna-type landscapes, arid and semi-arid areas.
Many fossils of South American toxodonts have been found next to arrowheads, this indicates that prehistoric men hunted them and this activity could be the main cause of their disappearance just over 10,000 years ago.
Approximate measurements of Mixotoxodon:
It was an animal similar to today's rhinos, although it was not related to the latter. It survived and prospered during the great American exchange since it was apparently the only specimen of its genus to leave South America and take advantage of new territories when the Isthmus of Panama was formed, even reaching Mexico, as demonstrated by its fossils found in the states of Veracruz. , Michoacán and more recently a record not yet confirmed in the state of Tamaulipas.
This prehistoric-looking beast weighed around 4 tons, 4 meters in length and more than 2 m. tall at the shoulders, it probably occupied a niche similar to that of today's black rhinos, it could feed on the hard and leathery vegetation typical of the areas it inhabited: savanna-type landscapes, arid and semi-arid areas.
Many fossils of South American toxodonts have been found next to arrowheads, this indicates that prehistoric men hunted them and this activity could be the main cause of their disappearance just over 10,000 years ago.
Approximate measurements of Mixotoxodon:
- Scale 1:35 Complete
- Length 95mm
- Height 48mm
- Snout-base tail length 97 mm
- Scale 1:20 Complete
- Length 162mm
- Height 81mm
- Snout-tail base length 170 mm
