Clade with the rank of cohort or super-order, part of the Atlantogenata, containing the South-American Ungulates: Xenungulata, Astrapotheria, Notoungulata and Litopterna. This is a new clade, since the member orders are seen as Ungulates by most scientists. The last few years more and more scientists believe the Meridiungulata originated in South-America, with the Xenarthra as closest relatives. So it seems the typical Ungulate morphology originated three times independantly: in the Meridiungulata, the Afrotheria and the "true" ungulates in the Laurasiatheria. A great example of convergent evolution. Jump to: navigation, search World map showing South America (geographically) South America is a part of the American continent traversed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Llamas such as this, which have two toes, are artiodactylas -- even toed ungulates Ungulates (meaning roughly hoofed or hoofed animal) make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive: Artiodactyla: even-toed ungulates, such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, antelope, and many others Cetacea: whales and dolphins... The Notoungulates are an extinct order of hoofed mammals that were native in South America. ... The Litopterna, also known as the pseudo-horse, is an order of fossil mammals from the Tertiary Period that displays toe reduction. ... Llamas such as this, which have two toes, are artiodactylas -- even toed ungulates Ungulates (meaning roughly hoofed or hoofed animal) make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive: Artiodactyla: even-toed ungulates, such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, antelope, and many others Cetacea: whales and dolphins... Families Myrmecophagidae Megalonychidae Bradypodidae Dasypodidae The order Xenarthra is a group of placental mammals, extant today only in the Americas. ... Afrotheria are a clade of mammals that has been proposed based on DNA analysis. ... Laurasiatheres includes the hoofed mammals ,carnivores mammals, bats and whales. ... In evolutionary biology, convergent evolution describes the process whereby organisms not closely related independently acquire similar characteristics while evolving in separate and sometimes varying ecosystems. ...