Merycopotamus
Encyclopedia
Merycopotamus is an extinct genus
of Asia
n anthracothere that appeared during the Middle Miocene
, and died out in the Late Pliocene
. At the height of the genus' influence, species ranged throughout southern Asia
. With the extinction of the last species, M. dissimilis, the lineage of anthracotheres came to an end. Merycopotamus was closely related to the anthracothere genus Libycosaurus
, which, unlike the former, never left Africa
. In fact, some African fossils originally placed in Merycopotamus, but are now referred to Libycosaurus.
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 Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n anthracothere that appeared during the Middle Miocene
Middle Miocene
The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene....
, and died out in the Late 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...
. At the height of the genus' influence, species ranged throughout southern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. With the extinction of the last species, M. dissimilis, the lineage of anthracotheres came to an end. Merycopotamus was closely related to the anthracothere genus Libycosaurus
Libycosaurus
Libycosaurus was one of the last anthracothere genera. It lived from the Middle to the Late Miocene, and ranged throughout Central and Northern Africa, and in Uganda, in what was then a lush, marshy environment....
, which, unlike the former, never left Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. In fact, some African fossils originally placed in Merycopotamus, but are now referred to Libycosaurus.