Dolichorhinus
Encyclopedia
Sphenocoelus is an extinct genus
of brontothere of the subfamily Dolichorhininae, family
Brontotheriidae
, endemic to North America
during the Middle Eocene epoch (46.2—42 mya), existing for approximately .
, to which it was distantly related. However, it was smaller than modern rhinos, standing about 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) high at the shoulders, and had a much longer head. Its teeth were adapted to eating soft vegetation, such as forest leaves. Like other brontotheres, it had four toes on the front feet, and three on the hind feet, and the animal is unlikely to have been able to run fast.
A single specimen was examined by M. Mendoza for body mass and was estimated to have a weight of 106.2 kg (234 lbs).
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of brontothere of the subfamily Dolichorhininae, family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Brontotheriidae
Brontotheriidae
Brontotheriidae, also called Titanotheriidae, is a family of extinct mammals belonging to the order Perissodactyla, the order that includes horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs. Superficially they looked rather like rhinos, although they were not true rhinos and are probably most closely related to...
, endemic to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
during the Middle Eocene epoch (46.2—42 mya), existing for approximately .
Taxonomy
Sphenocoelus was named by Osborn (1895). It is not extant. Its type is Sphenocoelus uintensis. It was assigned to Brontotheriidae by Osborn (1895) and Carroll (1988); and to Dolichorhininae by Mader (1998).Morphology
In life, it would have resembled a hornless rhinocerosRhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
, to which it was distantly related. However, it was smaller than modern rhinos, standing about 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) high at the shoulders, and had a much longer head. Its teeth were adapted to eating soft vegetation, such as forest leaves. Like other brontotheres, it had four toes on the front feet, and three on the hind feet, and the animal is unlikely to have been able to run fast.
A single specimen was examined by M. Mendoza for body mass and was estimated to have a weight of 106.2 kg (234 lbs).