Palaeosyops Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Palaeosyops robustus skeleton | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Perissodactyla |
Family: | † Brontotheriidae |
Genus: | † Palaeosyops |
Species | |
|
Palaeosyops (Greek: "old" (paleos), "boar" (kapros), "face" (ops) [1]) is a genus of small brontothere which lived during the early to middle Eocene. [2]
It was about the size of small cattle, with a weight of 600–800 kg depending on the species. [3]
These animals are commonly found in Wyoming fossil beds primarily as fossilized teeth. P. major was the largest species, reaching the size of a small cow. Its describer, Joseph Leidy, erroneously thought that Palaeosyops consumed both plants and animals after examining the fang-like canines. However, it is now known that all brontotheres were strict herbivores, and that many, if not most genera of hornless brontotheres had fang-like canines, possibly for both defense from predators, and intraspecific competition.
Palaeosyops Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Palaeosyops robustus skeleton | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Perissodactyla |
Family: | † Brontotheriidae |
Genus: | † Palaeosyops |
Species | |
|
Palaeosyops (Greek: "old" (paleos), "boar" (kapros), "face" (ops) [1]) is a genus of small brontothere which lived during the early to middle Eocene. [2]
It was about the size of small cattle, with a weight of 600–800 kg depending on the species. [3]
These animals are commonly found in Wyoming fossil beds primarily as fossilized teeth. P. major was the largest species, reaching the size of a small cow. Its describer, Joseph Leidy, erroneously thought that Palaeosyops consumed both plants and animals after examining the fang-like canines. However, it is now known that all brontotheres were strict herbivores, and that many, if not most genera of hornless brontotheres had fang-like canines, possibly for both defense from predators, and intraspecific competition.