Platygonus

Plat-e-gon-us.
By Lilah Turner
Published on

Lilah Turner

Evolutionary Biologist

Lilah Turner investigates how prehistoric animals adapted to changing environments, offering insights into evolution's mechanisms.

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Turner, L. (2014, June 28). Platygonus. Prehistoric-wildlife. https://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/platygonus/

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Name

Platygonus ‭(‬Flat head‭)‬.

Phonetic

Plat-e-gon-us.

Named By

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Artiodactyla,‭ ‬Tayassuidae.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

P.‭ ‬compressus‭

Size

Up to‭ ‬1‭ ‬meter long.

Known locations

Mostly known from across the United States.‭ ‬Fossils also reported from Argentina,‭ ‬Canada,‭ ‬Mexico and Uruguay.

Time Period

Tortonian of the Miocene through to the Holocene.

Fossil representation

Many individuals.

In Depth

       Platygonus is an extinct genus of peccary,‭ ‬a kind of artiodactyl mammal that is similar to a pig in physical appearance and ecological niche,‭ ‬yet is of a completely separate family.‭ ‬With larger Platygonus approaching one meter in length,‭ ‬they were quite a bit larger than modern peccaries.‭ ‬Platygonus may have been hunted by wolves and machairodont sabre-toothed cats such as Smilodon and Xenosmilus.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Estimating the body mass of extinct ungulates:‭ ‬a study on the use of multiple regression‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Zoology‭ ‬270‭ (‬1‭)‬:‭ ‬90‭–‬101.‭ ‬-‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Mendoza,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Janis‭ & ‬P.‭ ‬Palmqvist‭ ‬-‭ ‬2006.

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