Uintatheriidae
Encyclopedia
The Uintatheriidae is a family of extinct mammal
s that includes Uintatherium
. They belong to the order Dinocerata
, one of several extinct orders of primitive mammals that are sometimes united in the Condylarthra.
Uintatheres were the largest land animals of their time, surviving from the late Paleocene
into the Uintan
Epoch of the Middle Eocene
. They were heavy animals, with thick legs, massive bones, broad feet, and tiny brains. The most distinctive feature of the great majority of species, however, was the presence of multiple blunt "horns", perhaps similar to the ossicone
s of modern giraffe
s, and the presence of large, sabre-like canine teeth. They were eventually replaced as large browsing animals by the brontotheres.
Because the skulls of the species of Gobiatherium lack the diagnostic ossicones and fang-tusks of other uintatheres, the genus is sometimes placed within its own family, "Gobiatheriidae."
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...
s that includes Uintatherium
Uintatherium
Uintatherium, is an extinct genus of herbivorous mammal that lived during the Eocene epoch, which includes a single species currently recognized, U. anceps. They were similar to today's rhinoceros both in size and in shape, although they are not closely related...
. They belong to the order Dinocerata
Dinocerata
Dinocerata mammals are an extinct order of plant-eating, rhinoceros-like hoofed creatures famous for their paired horns and tusk-like canine teeth...
, one of several extinct orders of primitive mammals that are sometimes united in the Condylarthra.
Uintatheres were the largest land animals of their time, surviving from the late Paleocene
Paleocene
The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...
into the Uintan
Uintan
The Uintan North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology , typically set from 46,200,000 to 42,000,000 years BP lasting . It is usually considered to fall within the Eocene epoch...
Epoch of the Middle Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
. They were heavy animals, with thick legs, massive bones, broad feet, and tiny brains. The most distinctive feature of the great majority of species, however, was the presence of multiple blunt "horns", perhaps similar to the ossicone
Ossicone
Ossicones are horn-like protuberances on the heads of giraffes, male okapis, and their extinct relatives, such as Sivatherium, and the climacoceratids, such as Climacoceras. Only giraffids have true ossicones...
s of modern giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
s, and the presence of large, sabre-like canine teeth. They were eventually replaced as large browsing animals by the brontotheres.
Genera
Family Uintatheriidae- Subfamily Uintatheriinae
- Genus ProdinocerasProdinocerasProdinoceras was the earliest known uintathere genus, which lived in the late Paleocene of Mongolia. It is also regarded as the basal uintathere, as, although it had the characteristic fang-like tusks, it had yet to evolve the characteristic knob-like horns.It is very similar to its North...
- Genus BathyopsisBathyopsisBathyopsis is an extinct genus of uintathere.-References:*Lucas, S.G. and R.M. Schoch. 1998. Dinocerata. pp.284-291 in C.M. Janis, K.M. Scott, and L.L. Jacobs Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.* The Beginning of the Age of Mammals by Kenneth D. Rose...
- Genus UintatheriumUintatheriumUintatherium, is an extinct genus of herbivorous mammal that lived during the Eocene epoch, which includes a single species currently recognized, U. anceps. They were similar to today's rhinoceros both in size and in shape, although they are not closely related...
- Genus TetheopsisTetheopsisTetheopsis is an extinct genus of Uintatheriidae....
- Genus EobasileusEobasileusEobasileus cornutus is an extinct species of dinocerate mammal.Eobasileus was long and stood tall at the shoulder. It looked very similar to the related Uintatherium. Like Uintatherium, it had three pairs of blunt horns on its skull, possibly covered with skin like the ossicones of a giraffe...
- Genus Prodinoceras
- Subfamily Gobiatheriinae
- Genus GobiatheriumGobiatheriumGobiatherium was one of the last Uintatheres, from the Mid Eocene of Mongolia. Unlike its North American cousins, Uintatherium or Eobasileus, Gobiatherium lacked knob-like horns, or even fang-like tusks...
- Genus Gobiatherium
Because the skulls of the species of Gobiatherium lack the diagnostic ossicones and fang-tusks of other uintatheres, the genus is sometimes placed within its own family, "Gobiatheriidae."