Systemodon
Genus of mammals / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Systemodon is a genus of early Eocene mammal of Wasatchian age (ca. 55-50 mya). It was one of many mammals originally considered the earliest horses, long classified in the genus Hyracotherium (commonly known as Eohippus). These were dog-sized animals that in life would have looked vaguely like a paca, mara, or chevrotain (though they were perissodactyls, not rodents or artiodactyls.) The type species, S. tapirinus, is represented by 24 individuals from a locale called the Castillo pocket in the Huerfano Formation of Colorado. This well-preserved deposit allows researchers to reconstruct aspects of the environment and lifestyle of the species.[2]
Quick Facts Scientific classification, Binomial name ...
Systemodon | |
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Skull of S. tapirinus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Perissodactyla |
Clade: | Tapiromorpha |
Genus: | †Systemodon Cope, 1881 |
Species: | †S. tapirinus |
Binomial name | |
†Systemodon tapirinus Cope, 1875 | |
Synonyms[1] | |
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