Hesperotherium

Hesperotherium Temporal range: Early to Middle Pleistocene 0.781  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	† Chalicotheriidae
Subfamily:	† Chalicotheriinae
Genus:	† Hesperotherium Qiu Zhan-Xiang, 2002
Species:	†H. sinense
Binomial name
†Hesperotherium sinense Qiu Zhan-Xiang, 2002

Hesperotherium is a genus of chalicotheres from the Early to Middle Pleistocene of China. Along with Nestoritherium , it was one of the last of the chalicotheres to ever exist. It belonged to the subfamily Chalicotheriinae, which also includes Anisodon , Chalicotherium and Nestoritherium. ^[1]

Etymology

The genus name, Hesperotherium, is derived from the Greek hesperos, meaning "dusk" or "west" and therion, meaning "beast". The specific name means "from China". ^[1]

Palaeoecology

Hesperotherium would have coexisted with the proboscidean Sinomastodon , the giant ape Gigantopithecus, the pig Hippopotamodon , the mouse-deer Dorcabune, and the deer Cervavitus, as well as the pandas Ailuropoda wulingshanensis and Ailuropoda microta, the dhole Cuon antiquus, the tapir Tapirus sinensis and the proboscidean Stegodon . ^[2] Other classic animals typically include orangutans, macaques, rhinos, hedgehogs, hyenas, horses, the cow Leptobos , pikas, the extinct pigs Sus xiaozhu and S. peii, muntjac, Cervus (a deer), gaur (a cow), the goat-antelope Megalovis , and more rarely the large saber-toothed cat Megantereon . ^{[3] [2]}

References

1. Zhan-Xiang, Q. I. U. (2002-12-15). "HESPEROTHERIUM - A NEW GENUS OF THE LAST CHALICOTHERES". Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 40 (4): 317. ISSN   2096-9899.
2. Jin, C.; Wang, Y.; et al. (2014). "Chronological sequence of the early Pleistocene Gigantopithecus faunas from cave sites in the Chongzuo, Zuojiang River area,South China". Quaternary International. 354: 4–14. Bibcode:2014QuInt.354....4J. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2013.12.051.
3. Zhu, M.; Schubert, B. W.; Liu, J.; Wallace, S. C. (2014). "A new record of the saber-toothed cat Megantereon (Felidae, Machairodontinae) from an Early Pleistocene Gigantopithecus fauna, Yanliang Cave, Fusui, Guangxi, South China". Quaternary International. 354: 100–109. Bibcode:2014QuInt.354..100Z. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.06.052.