Propalaeotherium
| Propalaeotherium Temporal range: Middle Eocene
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| File:Propalaeotherium hassiacum.jpg | |
| Restored P. hassiacum skeleton | |
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Propalaeotherium
Gervais, 1849
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Propalaeotherium was an early genus of equid endemic to Europe and Asia during the Middle Eocene.
Taxonomy
Propalaeotherium was named by Paul Gervais: its name means "before Palaeotherium". It was considered a member of Palaeotheriidae by Hooker (1986).[1] A 2004 study found it to be an equid instead.[2]
The species P. parvulum and P. messelensis have been assigned to the equid genus Eurohippus.[3]
Description
Propalaeotheres were small animals, ranging from 30–60 cm at the shoulder (2.9 to 5.9 hands) weighing just Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value)..[4] They looked rather like very small tapirs. They had no hooves, having instead several small nail-like hooflets. They were herbivorous, and the amazingly well-preserved Messel fossils show that they ate berries, and leaf matter picked up from the forest floor.[5]
In popular culture
Propalaeotherium was featured in the British TV series Walking with Beasts, where it is shown as a skittish foraging creature that is a prey item of Gastornis and Ambulocetus
See also
References
- ↑ J. J. Hooker. 1986. Mammals from the Bartonian (middle/late Eocene) of the Hampshire Basin, southern England. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 39(4):191-478
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ S. Legendre. 1988. Les communautes de mammiferes du Paleogene (Eocene superieur et Oligocene) d'Europe occidentale: structure, milieux et evolution. Ph.D. thesis, Universite des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, Montpellier, France. 2 volumes. 1-265.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
