Merychyus
Encyclopedia
Merychyus is an extinct genus
of terrestrial
herbivore
of the family
Merycoidodontidae (oreodont
), endemic to North America
during the Oligocene
-Pliocene
subepochs (24.8—4.9 mya) existing for approximately .
Merychyus was a cud-chewing
plant-eater
with a short face, tusk-like canine teeth, heavy body, long tail, short feet, and four-toed
hoove
s.
(1858) and Lander (1998); and to Merychyinae by Parris and Grandstaff (2003).
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 terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
herbivore
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
of the 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...
Merycoidodontidae (oreodont
Oreodont
Oreodons, sometimes called prehistoric "ruminating hogs," were a family of cud-chewing plant-eater with a short face and tusk-like canine teeth...
), 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 Oligocene
Oligocene
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
-Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
subepochs (24.8—4.9 mya) existing for approximately .
Merychyus was a cud-chewing
Cud
Cud is a portion of food that returns from a ruminant's stomach in the mouth to be chewed for the second time. More accurately, it is a bolus of semi-degraded food regurgitated from the reticulorumen of a ruminant. Cud is produced during the physical digestive process of rumination, or "chewing the...
plant-eater
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
with a short face, tusk-like canine teeth, heavy body, long tail, short feet, and four-toed
Even-toed ungulate
The even-toed ungulates are ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third and fourth toes, rather than mostly or entirely by the third as in odd-toed ungulates such as horses....
hoove
Hoof
A hoof , plural hooves or hoofs , is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, strengthened by a thick horny covering. The hoof consists of a hard or rubbery sole, and a hard wall formed by a thick nail rolled around the tip of the toe. The weight of the animal is normally borne by both the sole...
s.
Taxonomy
Merychyus was named and assigned to Merycoidodontidae by Joseph LeidyJoseph Leidy
Joseph Leidy was an American paleontologist.Leidy was professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania, and later was a professor of natural history at Swarthmore College. His book Extinct Fauna of Dakota and Nebraska contained many species not previously described and many previously...
(1858) and Lander (1998); and to Merychyinae by Parris and Grandstaff (2003).
Morphology
Four specimens were examined by M. Mendoza for body mass and estimated to have a weight of:- Specimen 1: 98.4 kg (216.9 lbs).
- Specimen 2: 81.5 kg (179.6 lbs).
- Specimen 3: 83.1 kg (183.2 lbs).
- Specimen 4: 112.3 kg (247..5 lbs).