Trogosus

Trogosus is an extinct genus of tillodont mammal. Fossils have been found in Wyoming,^[2] California,^[3] and British Columbia,^[4] and date from the Eocene between 54.8 and 33.7 million years ago.

Trogosus Temporal range: Early Eocene–Middle Eocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Trogosus hyracoides skull at the National Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Tillodontia
Family:	†Esthonychidae
Subfamily:	†Trogosinae
Genus:	†Trogosus Leidy 1871
Species[1]
†T. castoridens (type) †T. gazini †T. grangeri †T. hillsii †T. hyracoides †T. latidens

Description

Life restoration

Trogosus was a bear-like herbivore with a large, short skull and flat feet, and had a skull 35 cm (14 in) long with an estimated body weight of 150 kg (330 lb).^[5] It had large, rodent-like incisors, which continued growing throughout the creature's life. Judging from the heavily worn molar teeth, Trogosus fed on rough plant material, such as roots and tubers.^[6] Trogosus possessed an exposed midbrain, a small neocortex, an orbitotemporal canal ventral to rhinal fissure, large olfactory bulbs, and a broad circular fissure. Its tiny neocortex relative to contemporary carnivorans and artiodactyls may have disadvantaged it when escaping predation by the former and competing for resources with the latter.^[2]