In Depth Macrosqualodelphis is a genus of river dolphin that is known to have lived in waters of Peruvian South America during the Miocene. Further Reading - A new large squalodelphinid (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from Peru sheds light on the Early Miocene platanistoid disparity and ecology. - Royal Society Open Science 5(4):172302. - G. Bianucci, G. … Read more
In Depth The name Libycosaurus is definitely a misnomer to be sure. When Libycosaurus was first named by Bonarelli in 1947 the partial fossil remains were thought to be those of a dinosaur. It was only later that it was realised that Libycosaurus was actually a kind of prehistoric relative of hippopotamuses. At the time … Read more
In Depth Xenokeryx is a genus of palaeomerycid artiodactyl mammal that lived in western Europe during the Miocene. Xenokeryx is noted to have a bizarre T-shaped horn rising up from the back of the skull. This horn is the inspiration of the type species name X. amidalae, which is a reference to the character of … Read more
In Depth Damalborea is a genus of alcelaphine bovid that lived in Africa during the Pliocene. As an alcelaphine Damalborea would have loosely resembled modern day wildebeest and hartebeest. Further Reading – Chapter 38: Bovidae by Alan W. Gentry. In Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press. pp. 747–803 - L. Werdelin & W. … Read more
In Depth Dilophodelphis is a genus of river dolphin that lived during the Miocene. The genus name means two crested delphis (delphis being a reference to the dolphin family). This is because the skull of Dilophodelphis has two crests of bone. Further Reading - A new fossil dolphin Dilophodelphis fordycei provides insight into the evolution … Read more
In Depth A relative of the better known Diacodexis, Indohyus has been speculated to be a member of a group of mammals that were possibly related to the mammals whose descendants would eventually go on to become the whales. This stems back to study of Indohyus which revealed that it had bones denser than most … Read more
In Depth As a member of the Protoceratidae, Syndyoceras would have been similar to a modern deer or antelope in general build and representative of a group of animals that were fairly common during the Miocene. Protoceratids are often noted for the elaborate horns that grew from their heads and Syndyoceras is no exception. Like … Read more
In Depth Diacodexis is an early indicator of the forms that the ungulates (hoofed mammals) evolved from, though Diacodexis may not have been ‘the’ ancestor even though it was certainly related to them. The main clue that Diacodexis is a candidate for being an ancestral form of artiodactyl is that while the feet still have … Read more
In Depth Initially thought to be some form of elephant and later an antelope, the correct identification of Sivatherium as a giraffe did not come about until Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire identified it as one. However this theory was not universally accepted until close analysis found that the skull horns would have been covered by skin like … Read more
In Depth Aguascalientia was a miniature camel that lived across the southern portions of the continent of North America, though it was not one of the ‘true’ camels that we know today. Its small size displays well how many of today’s larger mammals from camels to horses to even elephants had very humble beginnings in … Read more