Very rare Pliocene mammal skull Paedotherium, Argentina Chapadmalal Buenos Aires

Description

For sale is a very rare Pliocene mammal skull Paedotherium sp. from Argentina, Chapadmalal Buenos Aires.
I have only seen 1 time earlier in over 25 years on Ebay another specimen for sale of Paedotherium. Fossils from this animal and locality are hardly available on the market.
The upper part of the skull has all of its teeth. Some parts are missing, but is is mostly complete. The fossil shows mangane dendrites.
The lower jaw misses a small part, but has its teeth.
The fossils have been stabilised and are therefore a bit shiny.
Paedotherium sp.
from Argentina Chapadmalal, Marbel Plata, Buenos Aires.
Pliocene
Paedotherium is an extinct, potentially paraphyletic genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Hegetotheriidae, composed of small-sized, rodent or lagomorph-like South American ungulates. Four species are unambiguously recognized, from the Late Miocene to the Pleistocene of Argentina, and from the late Miocene of Bolivia and Chile.
The fossils of Paedotherium are very similar to its relative, Pachyrukhos. It was a small-sized mammal and had an hypsodont, "rabbit-like" dentition. Its body shared several similarities with modern rodents and lagomorphs, such as long, hare-like legs, sharp and prominent incisors and even brains similar to those of Caviidae. Its weight is roughly estimated between 1.8 and 2.2 kg. It is generally assumed to be a grazer and maybe a burrower.
Its cranium was different from other hegetotheres by a more developed antorbital maxillary process and a lack of sagittal crest. The third upper molar longer than the second, the second upper and lower premolars are longer and narrower than Pachyrukhos, the third lower molar has a triangular-shaped lobe. Its limbs had longer metatarsals, a more robust second metatarsal and shorter fourth and fifth metatarsal bones than Pachyrukhos.
The genus was present in a number of environment, from arid environments in the open pampa[1] near the Plataense sea known in formations such as the Arroyo Chasicó where P. minor was present to the more wet and forested fluvial environments documented in the Palo Pintado Formation where P. kakai is the only known form.
Paedotherium was one of the last surviving notoungulate, and the most recent hegetothere known, along with Tremacyllus. The genus survived the Great American Interchange, and may have survived until the earliest Pleistocene.The extinction of the small size notoungulate occurred during a period of climate change, to which rodents and lagomorphs may have been better adapted.
This is a very good specimen for the experienced collector or for a museum and for sure an eye catcher!
Dimensions upper skull approximately 7.5 x 4.5 x 3 cm.
Dimensions lower jaw approximately 5 x 3.5 x 2.5 cm
Good luck with bidding!
Payment can be done via paypal or via my bank account.
Shipping costs (the item will be sent from the Netherlands)
will vary per continent/country.
Maybe import costs will be the charged depending on where the buyer lives.
Please contact me if you have any questions