Cunampaia

Cunampaia is a dubious genus of extinct mesoeucrocodylian. Fossils have been found from the Divisadero Largo Formation of Mendoza Province, Argentina, and date back to the Divisaderan to Tinguirirican regional South American Land Mammal Age of the Late Eocene epoch.[1]

Cunampaia
Temporal range: Late Eocene (Divisaderan-Tinguirirican)
~37.2–33.9 Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Sauropsida
(unranked):
Mesoeucrocodylia
Genus:
Cunampaia

Rusconi 1946
Species
  • C. simplex Rusconi 1946 (type)

Description

Originally it was regarded as a gruiform bird, being only recently reassigned as a crocodylomorph.[2] In 1968 it was placed in its own family, Cunampaiidae, which falls within the suborder Cariamae.[3] Despite this classification, it has frequently been referred to as a phorusrhacid.[4]

Due to the lack of autapomorphies associated with the genus, Cunampaia is now considered to be a nomen dubium. As a result of this, its position is indeterminate within Mesoeucrocodylia.

References
  1. Cunampaia at Fossilworks.org
  2. Agnolín, F.; Pais, D. F. (2006). "Revisión de Cunampaia simplex Rusconi, 1946 (Crocodylomorpha, Mesoeucrocodylia; non Aves) del terciario Inferior de Mendoza, Argentina". Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales. 8: 35–40. doi:10.22179/REVMACN.8.349.
  3. Cracraft, J. (1968). "A review of the Bathornithidae (Aves, Gruiformes), with remarks on the relationships of the suborder Cariamae". American Museum Novitates. 2326: 1–46.
  4. Alvarenga, H. M. F.; Höfling, E. (2003). "Systematic revision of the Phorusrhacidae (Aves: Ralliformes)". Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo). 43 (4): 55–91. doi:10.1590/s0031-10492003000400001.


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