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
M. africanavus was an African mammoth that seems to have lived after M. subplanifrons and is important to researchers of elephants and mammoths because it is considered to be the ancestor of M. meridionalis (Southern mammoth). In turn the descendants of M. meridionalis would go onto to produce some of the more famous mammoth species such as M. trogontherii (Steppe mammoth) and M. primigenius (Woolly mammoth). … 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
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
In Depth A relative of the more famous Diprotodon, Zygomaturus was another of the exceptionally large wombats that once roamed around Australia. As a genus Zygomaturus has been envisioned as preferring to live around waterways such as rivers and lakes where they could browse upon the aquatic plants that grew around the water’s edge. Like … Read more
In Depth Akidolestes displays a number of features which are seen in monotreme mammals, including a similar pubis and the presence of cervical ribs. However, other observations of the holotype specimen mean that there is no doubt that Akidolestes was a spalacotheriid mammal. The monotreme-like features are probably convergent features or traits from an ancestral … Read more
In Depth Attockicetus was a remingtonocetid whale that lived in Pakistan during the Eocene. The known partial remains of the genus make reconstructing Attockicetus difficult, however the genus is expected to have been similar to its relatives Remingtonocetus, Andrewsiphius and Kutchicetus. Further Reading - Attockicetus praecursor, a new remingtonocetid cetacean from marine Eocene sediments of … Read more
In Depth Further Reading – On Megaladapis madagascariensis, an Extinct Gigantic Lemuroid from Madagascar; with Remarks on the Associated Fauna, and on Its Geological Age. – Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 185: 15–38. – C. I. F. major -1894. – Extinct Mammalia from Madagascar. I. Megaladapis insignis. – Philosophical Transactions of … Read more