| Notoungulata | |
|---|---|
| |
| Notostylops murinus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Eutheria |
| Superorder: | †Meridiungulata |
| Order: | †Notoungulata Roth, 1903 |
| Suborders and Families | |
| |
Notoungulata is an extinct order of hoofed mammalian ungulates that inhabited South America from the Paleocene to the Pleistocene. This entirely new order of mammals arose only in South America because the continent was cut off from contact with any other land masses until the Pliocene, otherwise known as the Great American Exchange. The mammals were so successful on this continent because there were no major carnivores, except for the Terror Birds. This one group also covers so many different life forms because the Notoungulates had to fill in all the niches of herbivore life.