Embolotherium
Name:
Embolotherium
(Battering ram beast).
Phonetic: Em-bo-lo-fee-ree-um.
Named By: Henry Fairfield Osborn - 1929.
Synonyms: Embolotherium efremovi, E.
ergilensi, E. louksi, E. ultimum. Possibly also Titanodectes.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia,
Perissodactyla, Brontotheriidae.
Species: E. andrewsi (type), E.
grangeri. *Note - other species have listed but
these are
generally considered to be synonyms of other species.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: 2.5 meters high at the shoulder.
Known locations: Mongolia.
Time period: Bartonian to Priabonian of the Eocene.
Fossil representation: Many specimens but incomplete
individuals comprising of skulls, jaws and some partial post cranial
remains.
As
an Asian
brontothere, Embolotherium rivals large North
American species like
Megacerops in terms of size. However a full
skeleton of Embolotherium
remains unknown to science and this conclusion is based upon comparison
of the known parts of Embolotherium with the more
complete remains of
other brontotheres.
Whereas
many brontotheres
have ornamentation on top of their heads, Embolotherium
did not have
individual horns but a single plate that rose up from the tip of the
snout, the inspiration for the battering ram part of its name.
Interestingly there does not seem to be any difference between males
and females on the basis that all known skulls, even those of
juveniles have this feature. This plate has a lightweight
construction which pretty much rules out the possibility that it was a
weapon used in dominance contests. More likely the plate was a
display device that allowed Embolotherium
individuals to signal to one
another, as well as identify members of their own species from other
similar species and animals. Another product of this nasal feature
however is that the nasal cavity shows considerable enlargement which
has led to the suggestion that Embolotherium may
have had a resonating
chamber for amplyfying the sound of its calls.
Embolotherium
seems to have
been better adapted to eating softer vegetation since overall the teeth
are better adapted for sheering rather than grinding plants. The
forward incisor teeth are not especially well developed which further
suggests that Embolotherium fed upon plant parts
that would not require
a great deal of effort (and hence less strain on teeth) to pull
free. Much of Asia during the early Eocene was at a lower elevation
than it is today which resulted in more extensive areas of wetland.
It is likely that Embolotherium roamed around
these habitats browsing
from the soft vegetation that would grow here.
By
the end of the Eocene the
climate of Asia was becoming drier, a process that was the result of
the rising Himalaya Mountains elevating the land and draining the low
lying areas. This saw an environmental shift towards a plains
environment with different types of plants that Embolotherium
was less
suited to. On top of this new herbivores were adapting to take
advantage of these new plants which resulted in additional competition
which saw Embolotherium edged into extinction.
Further reading
- Embolotherium, gen. nov., of the Ulan Gochu,
Mongolia. American
Museum novitates ; no. 353. - Henry Fairfield Osborn - 1929.
- A revision of the Mongolian titanotheres. Bulletin of the American
Museum of Natural History 80(10):349-389. - W. Granger & W. K.
Gregory - 1943.
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