Gobiatherium

Gobiatherium
Temporal range: Middle Eocene
Gobiatherium major and the pantodont Hypercoryphodon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Dinocerata
Family: Uintatheriidae
Subfamily: Gobiatheriinae
Genus: Gobiatherium
Osborn & Granger, 1932
Species
  • G. major
  • G. mirificum
  • G. monolobotum
Skull of Gobiatherium

Gobiatherium (meaning "Beast of the Gobi Desert") was one of the last Uintatheres, from the Mid Eocene of Mongolia. Unlike its North American cousins, Uintatherium or Eobasileus, Gobiatherium lacked knob-like horns, or even fang-like tusks. Instead, it had enlarged cheekbones and an almost spherical snout.

Because of the noticeable lack of many diagnostic uintathere features (the horns and tusks), the genus is placed within its own subfamily, "Gobiatheriinae," though some experts prefer to rank it as the family "Gobiatheriidae".

References

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