Chalicotherioidea
| Chalicotherioidea Temporal range:EarlyEoceneto MiddlePleistocene
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| Moropus elatusat theNational Museum of Natural History,Washington, DC | |
Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Suborder: | †Ancylopoda |
| Superfamily: | †Chalicotherioidea Gill, 1872 |
| Families | |
Chalicotherioideais an extinctsuperfamilyof clawedperissodactyls(odd-toed ungulates) that lived from the earlyEoceneto the earlyPleistocenesubepochs.[1]Based on the fossil record they emerged and thrived largely inEurasia,although specimens have been found in bothAfricaandNorth America.They were likelybrowsersthat fed mainly on leaves, twigs, and other nonresistant vegetation. Many of the containedgenerahad derived specializations of theforelimbandmanusthat allowed the claws to be used as hooks for browsing and to be kept off of the ground while walking.[2]Chalicotheres lived primarily in forested areas. Sizesexual dimorphismand morphological structures such as the domed skulls ofTylocephalonyxsuggestagonistic behaviourin some sort of social setting.[2]They are related to modern dayhorses,rhinoceroses,andtapirs,as well as the extinctbrontotheres.[3]
References
[edit]- ^abPaleoBiology Database: Chalicotherioidea, basic info
- ^abJanis, Christine M.; Scott, Kathleen M.; Jacobs, Louis L., eds. (1998).Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Terrestrial carnivores, ungulates, and ungulatelike mammals.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-35519-3.
- ^Savage, RJG; Long, MR (1986).Mammal Evolution: an illustrated guide.New York: Facts on File. pp.198–199.ISBN978-0-8160-1194-0.
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