Eomoropidae

Eomoropidae
Temporal range: 46.2–33.9 Ma Mid to Late Eocene[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Suborder: †Ancylopoda
Superfamily: †Chalicotherioidea
Family: †Eomoropidae
Matthew, 1929
Genera

†Eomoropus
†Grangeria
†Litolophus
†Paleomoropus

Eomoropidae is a family of odd-toed ungulates, a group which also includes horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs. They were most closely related to the extinct chalicotheres, which they greatly resemble, and may have been their immediate ancestors. They were, however, much smaller than the later forms, being around the size of a sheep. Like their later relatives, they were probably browsers on leaves and other soft vegetation, and, unlike most other ungulates, had claws on their feet.[2] The Eomoropidae is most likely a paraphyletic group within Chalicotherioidea.[3]

  1. ^ PaleoBiology Database: Eomoropidae, basic info
  2. ^ Savage, RJG & Long, MR (1986). Mammal Evolution: an illustrated guide. New York: Facts on File. pp. 199. ISBN 0-8160-1194-X.
  3. ^ Jacobs, Louis L.; Scott, Kathleen Marie (1998). Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Terrestrial carnivores, ungulates, and ungulatelike mammals. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-52135519-3.