- Anthracotherium
Taxobox
name = "Anthracotherium"
fossil_range =Oligocene to MidMiocene
image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Anthracotherium magnum" and "Elomeryx "
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Mammal ia
ordo = Artiodactyla
familia = †Anthracotheriidae
subfamilia = †Anthracotheriinae
genus = †"Anthracotherium"
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
* †"A. sminthos" (Forster-Cooper, 1913)
* †"A. magnum"
* †"A. pangan"
* †"A. monsvialense"
* †"A. minus"
* †"A. minimum"
* †"A. bumbachense"
* †"A. meneghinii"
synonyms =
*"Anthracohyus" Pilgrim and Cotter, 1916
*"Anthracokeryx" Pilgrim and Cotter, 1916
*"Anthracothema" Pilgrim, 1928"Anthracotherium" ("
Coal Beast") was agenus of extinct artiodactylungulate mammal s, characterized by having 44teeth , with five semi-crescentic cusps on the crowns of the upper molars. The genus ranged throughout theOligocene period, having a distribution throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. They died out during the mid to late Miocene, possibly due to a combination of climatic change and competition from other artiodactyls, including pigs and hippopotami (such may have been the case in Europe). The genus typifies the family Anthracotheriidae, if only because it is the most thoroughly studied. In many respects, especially the anatomy of the lower jaw, "Anthracotherium", as with the other members of the family, is allied to thehippopotamus , of which it is probably an ancestral form. Recent evidence further suggests that anthracotheres, together with hippos, may be close to the ancestry of thewhale s.The genus name stems from the fact that the remains first described having been obtained from the
Tertiary lignite -beds ofEurope .The European "Anthracotherium magnum" was approximately as large as a hippo, but there were several smaller species and the genus also occurs in
Egypt ,India andNorth America . Members of the genus "Anthracotherium", as well as other members of the family Anthracotheriidae, are known colloquially asanthracothere s.References
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