Palaeotherium

Palaeotherium
Temporal range: Early to Middle Eocene
P. magnum skeleton
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Perissodactyla
Family:†Palaeotheriidae
Genus:†Palaeotherium
Cuvier, 1804
Species
  • ?P. curtum
  • ?P. duvalii
  • ?P. medium
  • P. parvulum
  • P. muehlbergi
  • P. minus
  • P. magnum

Palaeotherium ('old beast') is an extinct genus of primitive perissodactyl ungulate.

Taxonomy

George Cuvier originally described them as being a kind of tapir, and as such, Palaeotherium is popularly reconstructed as a tapir-like animal. Recent reexaminations of the skulls show that the nasal cavity was not shaped to support a small trunk, thus starting a recent trend to reconstruct them as looking more horse-like. Recent anatomical studies also suggest that Palaeotherium, along with other palaeothere genera such as Hyracotherium, were closely related to horses.

The average species of Palaeotherium was about 75 cm (2 ft 6 in) tall at the shoulder and lived in the tropical forests covering Europe around 45 million years ago, during the early to mid Eocene.[1] The largest species, P. magnum of Mid Eocene France, grew to be almost as large as a horse.

References

  1. ↑ Joomun, S. C.; Hooker, J. J.; Collinson, M. E. (2008). "Dental wear variation and implications for diet: An example from Eocene perissodactyls (Mammalia)". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 263 (3–4): 92. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2008.03.001.
  • Media related to Palaeotherium at Wikimedia Commons
  • Wikisource "Palaeotherium". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.


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