Anthracotherium

Anthracotherium

Taxobox
name = "Anthracotherium"
fossil_range = Oligocene to Mid Miocene



image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Anthracotherium magnum" and "Elomeryx"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
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 a genus of extinct artiodactyl ungulate mammals, characterized by having 44 teeth, with five semi-crescentic cusps on the crowns of the upper molars. The genus ranged throughout the Oligocene 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 the hippopotamus, of which it is probably an ancestral form. Recent evidence further suggests that anthracotheres, together with hippos, may be close to the ancestry of the whales.

The genus name stems from the fact that the remains first described having been obtained from the Tertiary lignite-beds of Europe.

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 and North America. Members of the genus "Anthracotherium", as well as other members of the family Anthracotheriidae, are known colloquially as anthracotheres.

References

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Anthracotherium — Lebendrekostruktion von Anthracotherium magnum Zeitraum Oligozän bis Miozän ca. 30 bis ca. 19 Mio. Jahre Fundorte …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Anthracotherium — Anthracothère …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Anthracotherĭum — (Petref.), so v.w. Kohlenthier …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Anthracotherĭum — Anthracotherĭum, s. Anthrakotheriiden …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Anthracotherium —   [griechisch »Kohlentier«] das, s/...ri |en, ausgestorbene Gattung nah mit der Familie der Schweine verwandter Paarhufer aus dem Tertiär, die feuchte Wälder und Moore bewohnten; besonders aus Braunkohlevorkommen bekannt; Leitfossilien im… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Anthracotherium — Anthracothère …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Anthracotherium — …   Википедия

  • anthracotherium — an·thra·co·the·ri·um …   English syllables

  • anthracotherium — ˌan(t)thrə(ˌ)kōˈthirēəm, kə noun Usage: capitalized Etymology: New Latin, from anthrac + therium : a genus of Tertiary artiodactyl mammals of Asia and Europe related to the pigs but sometimes as large as the rhinoceros …   Useful english dictionary

  • Anthracotheres — Anthracotherium Anthracothère …   Wikipédia en Français

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