The genus name comes from Patago, referring to Patagonia and Greek rhynchus, meaning nose. The species name pascuali honors Argentine paleomammalogist Rosendo Pascual.[1]
Evolution
Patagorynchus represents the oldest known monotreme species from South America, indicating that they had already arrived in the region by the end of the Cretaceous, and were present in Antarctica during the Late Cretaceous.[2][1]
Classification
Chimento et al. (2023) recovered Patagorhynchus as a monotreme mammal. The simplified results of their phylogenetic analyses are shown in the cladogram below:[1]