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 At almost seventy kilos, Adilophontes was a large daphoenine bear dog, a group of bear dogs so far only known from North America. This large size meant that it was even larger than the largest species of Hyaenodon in North America, H. horridus, and along with other large forms such as Amphicyon and … Read more
In Depth For the first part of their taxonomic life, fossils of Lufengpithecus were actually known as Ramapithecus lufengensis (‘Rama ape from Lufeng). Between 1975 and 1976 however, much more complete fossils of Ramapithecus were recovered, but instead of allowing for more complete restoration of this ape they led to the realisation that the genus … Read more
In Depth Aegyptonycteris is a genus of bat that lived in Egypt during the Eocene. Though only known form partial remains, Aegyptonycteris seems to have had an omnivorous diet, revealing that as the bats evolved, they were relatively quick to adapt to different ecological niches. Further Reading - A New Family of Large Omnivorous Bats … Read more
In Depth Phascolonus was a genus of giant wombat that lived in Australia during the Pleistocene period. Fossils of this genus have been found at one of the most well-known areas for Pleistocene animals in Australia, Lake Callabonna. Lake Callabonna is especially well known for the remains of the huge Diprotodon, another large wombat that … Read more
In Depth Eohippus is a classic prehistoric mammal, dubbed as one of the earliest and smallest horses ever to live. There has in the past been some taxonomic confusion over the validity of the genus, and at one time Eohippus was actually regarded as belonging to another genus named Hyracotherium. Later thought has cast doubt … 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 Afrodon was a small eutherian mammal that seems to have been spread at least across Western Europe to the Western tip of North Africa. Add into account the broad temporal range of this mammal, and it seems that Afrodon was a very successful little mammal. Further Reading - Afrodon chleuhi nov. gen., nov. … Read more
In Depth Beneziphius is a genus of beaked whale that lived in waters around Europe during the Miocene/Pliocene periods. Further Reading - Systematics and phylogeny of the fossil beaked whales Ziphirostrum du Bus, 1868 and Choneziphius Duvernoy, 1851 (Mammalia, Cetacea, Odontoceti), from the Neogene of Antwerp (North of Belgium). - Geodiversitas 27(3):443-497. - O. Lambert … 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