Hyopsodus
Encyclopedia
Hyopsodus is a genus
of extinct condylarth
mammal
of the hyopsodontidae
family. Fossil
s of this genus have been found in North America
, especially the bighorn basin region of the United States. They are oftentimes nicknamed "tube sheep", due to their strange, weasel-like body.
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 extinct condylarth
Condylarth
Condylarthra is an order of extinct placental mammals known primarily from the Paleocene and Eocene epochs. Condylarths are among the most characteristic Paleocene mammals and they illustrate the evolutionary level of the Paleocene mammal fauna....
mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
of the hyopsodontidae
Hyopsodontidae
Hyopsodontidae is an extinct family of unspecialized, primitive mammals from the Condylarthra order, living from the Paleocene to the Eocene in North America and EurasiaThey were generally small insectivorous animals. The most common genus is Hyopsodus....
family. Fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s of this genus have been found in 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...
, especially the bighorn basin region of the United States. They are oftentimes nicknamed "tube sheep", due to their strange, weasel-like body.