Halitherium

Halitherium
Temporal range: Late Eocene-Early Oligocene
~37–28 Ma
Halitherium schinzi skeleton, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris
Life restoration of H. schinzii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Sirenia
Family: Dugongidae
Subfamily: †Halitheriinae
Genus: †Halitherium
Kaup, 1838
Species
  • H. alleni Simpson, 1932
  • H. schinzii (Kaup, 1838) (type)

Halitherium is an extinct dugongid sea cow that arose in the late Eocene, then became extinct during the early Oligocene. Its fossils are common in European shales. Inside its flippers were finger bones that did not stick out. Halitherium also had the remnants of back legs, which did not show externally. However, it did have a basic femur, joined to a reduced pelvis. Halitherium also had elongated ribs, presumably to increase lung capacity to provide fine control of buoyancy. A 2014 review presented the opinion that the genus is dubious.