- Miniochoerus
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Miniochoerus
Temporal range: Late Eocene–Oligocene
Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: †Merycoidodontidae Subfamily: Miniochoerinae Genus: Miniochoerus
Schultz and Falkenbach, 1956Type species Miniochoerus battlecreekensis Species[1] see text
Synonyms Miniochoerus is a small extinct genus of oreodont endemic to North America during the Late Eocene (38—30.8 mya) which existed for approximately 6 million years.[1][3]
Contents
Taxonomy
Miniochoerus was named by Schultz and Falkenbach (1956). Its type is Miniochoerus battlecreekensis. It was synonymized subjectively with Oreonetes by Lander (1998). It was assigned to Merycoidodontidae by Schultz and Falkenbach (1956) and Stevens and Stevens (1996).[4][5]
Species
- M. affinis (syn. Merycoidodon platycephalus, M. battlecreekensis, Oreodon coloradoensis, Stenopsochoerus sternbergi)
- M. chadronensis (syn. Parastenopsochoerus conversensis, Stenopsochoerus douglasensis, S. reideri)
- M. forsythae
- M. gracilis
- M. starkensis (syn. M. cheyennensis, M. helprini, M. nicholsae, M. ottensi, Platyochoerus hatcreekensis, P. heartensis, Stenopsochoerus berardae, S. joderensis)
Morphology
Typically, there were about the size of a small dog. Their skulls were small and short, compared to other oreodont species, many of which had proportionately large heads. Unlike other oreodont species, they had small canines which would have done little good against foes. The genus arose during the late Eocene, and survived the Late Eocene extinction event, giving rise to a dwarfed lineage during the early Oligocene.[6]
A single specimen was examined by M. Mendoza for body mass and estimated to have a weight of 32.4 kg (71.4 lbs).[7]
Fossil distribution
Fossil distribution is confined to North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming.
References
- ^ a b Stevens, M.S.; Stevens, J.B. (1996). "Merycoidodontinae and Miniochoerinae". In Prothero, D.R.; and Emry, R.J. (eds.). The terrestrial Eocene-Oligocene transition in North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 498–573. ISBN 0521433878.
- ^ a b Subgenus not recognized by Stevens and Stevens.
- ^ PaleoBiology Database: Miniochoerus, basic info
- ^ C. B. Schultz and C. H. Falkenbach. 1956. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 109
- ^ B. Lander. 1998. Oreodontoidea. In C. M. Janis, K. M. Scott, and L. L. Jacobs (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary mammals of North America 402-425
- ^ Prothero, D.R. (2006). After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253347335.
- ^ M. Mendoza, C. M. Janis, and P. Palmqvist. 2006. Estimating the body mass of extinct ungulates: a study on the use of multiple regression. Journal of Zoology
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