In Depth Eocetus was first named by Eberhard Fraas in 1904, but at first as Mesocetus schweinfurthi. It soon came to the attention of Fraas however that the name Mesocetus was already in use, so he instead created the genus name Eocetus for his specimen. Known as a protocetid whale, and hence relative to genera … Read more
In Depth Platalearostrum is an extinct genus of dolphin that lived in the waters of what is now the North Sea. The first fossils of Platalearostrum were dredged up by a fishing trawler, and they show us that Platalearostrum probably had a balloon shaped head. Further Reading - A new dolphin (Cetacea, Delphinidae) from the … Read more
In Depth Nidimys is a genus of multituberculatan mammal that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - Mammals from the St. Mary River Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Montana. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30(3):885-898. - J. P. Hunter, R. E. Heinrich & D. B. Weishampel - 2010.
In Depth Dinailurictis is so similar to another nimravid called Quercylurus that it has actually been considered to be a synonym to it. Also like with Quercylurus, Dinailurictis has also been considered to be a synonym to Nimravus, the type genus of the Nimravidae. However not all researchers are convinced by these ideas, one reason … 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 Oklatheridium is a genus of deltatheroidan mammal that lived in North America during the Cretaceous. Further Reading - Earliest Evidence of Deltatheroida (Mammalia: Metatheria) from the Early Cretaceous of North America. Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology: A Tribute to Frederick S. Szalay 3-24. - B. M. Davis, R. L. Cifelli & Z. Kielan-Jaworowska - 2008.
In Depth Theosodon was probably a lot like a llama in appearance, however it was not actually related to this group of mammals (the Camelidae) but instead was a litoptern mammal, the dominant group of mammals in South America before it became joined to North America. This is a case of convergent evolution where even … Read more
In Depth Unfortunately we cannot bring much information on this bear dog. Further Reading Further reading- �ber tertia?re Spaltenf�llungen im Fr�nkischen und Schw�bischen Jura [On Tertiary fissure fillings in the Franconian and Swabian Jura]. – Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung, Neue Folge 29:1-86. – R. Dehm – 1935.
In Depth Tohoraata is a genus of whale that lived in the waters around New Zealand during the Oligocene. A former species of Mauicetus, M. waitakiensis, has now been named as a second species of Tohoraata. Further Reading - A new eomysticetid (Mammalia: Cetacea) from the Late Oligocene of New Zealand and re-evaluation of ‘Mauicetus’ … Read more
In Depth Although not a very well-known prehistoric ape, Khoratpithecus has been regarded as being intermediate in form between Sivapithecus and the modern day genus Pongo, better known as the orangutan. For this reason there has been suggestion that Khoratpithecus might actually be the direct ancestor of orangutans. The species Khoratpithecus chiangmuanensis was established from … Read more