Fiandraia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fiandraia |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Notoungulata |
| Genus: | †Fiandraia Roselli, 1976 |
| Type species | |
| †Fiandraia romeii Roselli, 1976
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Fiandraia was an extinct animal that lived a long, long time ago. It was a type of notoungulate, which is a group of hoofed mammals that are now all gone. Fiandraia lived in what is now Uruguay, a country in South America. It roamed the Earth during the Oligocene and Early Miocene periods, which was about 29 to 21 million years ago.
What Was Fiandraia?
Fiandraia was a unique animal because it is the only known species in its group. This means it's a "monotypic genus." Scientists found its fossils in a place called the Fray Bentos Formation in Uruguay. These rocks tell us that Fiandraia lived during a time known as the Deseadan period.
Solving the Family Puzzle
For a long time, scientists weren't sure exactly where Fiandraia fit into the animal family tree. When it was first discovered in 1976 by Roselli, it was placed in the Mesotheriidae family.
Later, in 1978, other scientists thought it might belong to the Interatheriidae family instead. Then, in 1997, McKenna & Bell suggested that Fiandraia was so special it needed its own family, called Fiandraiinae. They still thought this new family was part of the larger Mesotheriidae group.
Even more recently, in 2005, some researchers like Flynn and his team believed Fiandraia was actually part of the Toxodontidae family. This shows how scientists keep studying fossils and sometimes change their minds as they learn more!
See also
In Spanish: Fiandraia para niños
