Sparassodont

Sparassodonta Temporal range: Palaeocene–Pleistocene
Thylacosmilus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Metatheria
Order:	†Sparassodonta Ameghino, 1894

The Sparassodonta were an order of carnivorous metatherian mammals. They are all now extinct.^[1]

The sparassodonts were native to South America. They were once thought to be true marsupials, but are now classified as a sister taxon to them.^[2][3]

A number of these mammalian predators closely resemble placental predators that evolved separately in Eurasia. They were first described by Florentino Ameghino, from fossils found in the Santa Cruz beds of Patagonia.

1. ↑ *Goin, Francisco J (2003). "Early marsupial radiations in South America". In Menna Jones; Mike Archer; Chris Dickman (eds.). Predators with pouches: the biology of carnivorous marsupials. CSIRO. pp. 30–42. ISBN 9780643099487.
2. ↑ Simpson, George Gaylord 1941. The affinities of the Borhyaenidae. American Museum Novitates 1118: 1–6.
3. ↑ Naish, Darren (2008). "Invasion of the marsupial weasels, dogs, cats and bears... or is it?". Tetrapod zoology. Retrieved 2008-12-07.