Merycoidodontidae

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Merycoidodontidae
Merycoidodon in a drawing by Heinrich Harder

Merycoidodon in a drawing by Heinrich Harder

Temporal occurrence
late Eocene to late Miocene
38 to 5 million years
Locations
Systematics
Mammals (mammalia)
Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Laurasiatheria
Artiodactyla (Artiodactyla)
Callus soles (Tylopoda)
Merycoidodontidae
Scientific name
Merycoidodontidae
Thorpe , 1923

The merycoidodontoidea earlier than Oreodontidae called, are an extinct group of even-toed ungulates , over a period of 30 million years ago from the late Eocene to late Miocene in North and Central America lived. They seem to have emerged from the Agriochoeridae . Since the first Merycoidodontiden were already well developed, one assumes a long, fossil undocumented prehistory. A first adaptive radiation of the Merycoidodontidae took place in the early Eocene, a second in the late Oligocene.

features

They were pig-like, slim to squat, and the size of a rabbit to that of a domestic pig. The lower jaw was high and had a large angle between the body of the lower jaw and the ascending branch of the lower jaw. Their dentition was unreduced and selenodontic . The upper canine and the first lower premolar were opposite, the lower canine was shaped like an incisor, the upper canine and the first premolar were separated by a short diastema . They were four-toed toe walkers with two to five toes on the ground. Merycoidodontids were primarily leaf eaters, with some possibly eating grass or both.

Subfamilies and genera

Skeleton of Merycoidodon culbertsoni
Skull and mandible of Merycochoerus superbus in the UCMP , bottom view
Skull of Eporeodon occidentalis in UCMP, bottom view

literature

  • Donald R. Prothero, Scott E. Foss (Eds.): The Evolution of Artiodactyls. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2007, ISBN 978-0-8018-8735-2 .

Web links

Commons : Merycoidodontidae  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files