Cainotherium

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Lithograph from 1896 A guide to the fossil mammals and birds in the Department of Geology and Palaeontology in the British Museum (Natural History) (1896) (14775434603).jpg
Lithograph from 1896

Cainotherium
Temporal range: Eocene–Early Miocene
Cainotherium restoration.jpg
Restoration
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cainotheriidae
Genus: Cainotherium
Bravard, 1828
Type species
Microtherium renggeri [1]
von Meyer 1837
Species
  • C. renggeri(von Meyer, 1837)
  • C. laticurvatumGeoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1833
  • C. communeBravard, 1835
  • C. miocaenicumCrusafont-Pairó et al., 1955
  • C. bavaricumBerger, 1959
  • C. lintillaeBaudelot & Grouzel, 1974
  • C. huerzeleriHeizmann, 1983
Synonyms
  • Caenotherium Agassiz 1846
  • Crinotherium Filhol 1882
  • Microtherium renggerivon Meyer, 1837
  • C. minimumBravard 1835
  • Caenotherium elegansPomel 1846 (syn. of C. laticurvatum)
  • C. metopiasPomel 1851
  • C. laticurvatum ligericumGinsburg et al. 1985

Cainotherium is an extinct genus of rabbit-sized prehistoric even-toed ungulates. These herbivores lived in Europe from the Eocene [2] until the early Miocene. [3] The skeletal anatomy of these hare-like animals suggest they, along with other members of Cainotheriidae, belong to the artiodactyl suborder Tylopoda, together with oreodonts and modern camelids. Species had cloven hooves, similar to those of bovids or deer, although the shape and length of the limbs suggests that the living animals moved by leaping, like a rabbit. The shape of the teeth also suggests a rabbit-like diet of nibbled vegetation, while the size of the auditory bulla and shape of the brain suggest that it would have had good senses of hearing and smell. [4] [5]

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References

  1. Lyell, Charles (1871). The student's elements of geology. p.  209. ISBN   9781843271154.
  2. Prothero, Donald (2007). The Evolution of Artiodactyls. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 69. ISBN   978-0-8018-8735-2.
  3. Prothero, Donald (2007). The Evolution of Artiodactyls. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 71. ISBN   978-0-8018-8735-2.
  4. Savage, RJG; Long, MR (1986). Mammal Evolution: an illustrated guide . New York: Facts on File. p.  214. ISBN   0-8160-1194-X.
  5. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 270. ISBN   1-84028-152-9.