Elomeryx

Elomeryx Temporal range: Middle Eocene–Early Oligocene PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Elomeryx armatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	†Anthracotheriidae
Subfamily:	†Bothriodontinae
Genus:	†Elomeryx Marsh, 1894
Type species
†Elomeryx armatus
Species
†E. armatus †E. borbonicus †E. cluai †E. crispus †E. garbanii

Elomeryx is an extinct genus of artiodactyl ungulate, and is among the earliest known anthracotheres. The genus was extremely widespread, first being found in Asia in the middle Eocene, in Europe during the latest Eocene, and having spread to North America by the early Oligocene.^[1]

Restoration of E. armatus

Elomeryx was about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in body length, and had a long, vaguely horse-like head. It had small tusks which it used to uproot plants, and spoon-shaped incisors ideal for pulling and cropping water plants. Elomeryx had five-toed hind legs and four-toed front legs, resulting in wide feet which made it easier to walk on soft mud. It probably had similar habits to the modern hippopotamus, to which it may have been related.^[2]

References

1. Ducrocq, S. & F. Lihoreau (2006). "The occurrence of bothriodontines (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) in the Paleogene of Asia with special reference to Elomeryx: Paleobiogeographical implications". Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 27 (6): 885–891. Bibcode:2006JAESc..27..885D. doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2005.09.004.
2. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 268. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.