Merycopotamus

Merycopotamus
Temporal range: Middle Miocene–Late Pliocene
Fossil casts of Merycopotamus dissimilis at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: †Anthracotheriidae
Subfamily: †Bothriodontinae
Genus: †Merycopotamus
Falconer & Cautley, 1847
Type species
†Merycopotamus dissimilis
Species
  • †M. dissimilis
  • †M. medioximus
  • †M. nanus
  • †M. thachangensis[1]

Merycopotamus is an extinct genus of Asian anthracothere that appeared during the Middle Miocene, and died out in the Late Pliocene. At the height of the genus' influence, species ranged throughout South Asia.[2] 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.[3] In fact, some African fossils originally placed in Merycopotamus, but are now referred to Libycosaurus.[2][4]

  1. ^ Hanta, R.; Ratanasthien, B.; Kunimatsu, Y.; Saegusa, H.; Nakaya, H.; Nagaoka, S. & Jintasakul, S. (2008). "A New Species of Bothriodontinae, Merycopotamus thachangensis (Cetartiodactyla, Anthracotheriidae) from the Late Miocene of Nakhon Ratchasima, Northeastern Thailand". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 28 (4): 1182–1188. doi:10.1671/0272-4634-28.4.1182. S2CID 130059264.
  2. ^ a b Lihoreau, F.; J. Barry; C. Blondel; Y. Chiamanee; J.-J. Jaeger; M. Brunet (2007). "Anatomical revision of the genus Merycopotamus (Artiodactyla; Anthracotheriidae): its significance for late Miocene mammal dispersal in Asia". Palaeontology. 50 (2): 503–524. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2006.00643.x. S2CID 129663125.
  3. ^ Lihoreau, Fabrice; Jean-Renaud Boisserie; et al. (2006). "Anthracothere dental anatomy reveals a late Miocene Chado-Libyan bioprovince" (PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103 (originally published online May 24, 2006): 8763–7. Bibcode:2006PNAS..103.8763L. doi:10.1073/pnas.0603126103. PMC 1482652. PMID 16723392.
  4. ^ Pickford, Martin (2006). "Sexual and individual morphometric variation in Libycosaurus (Mammalia, Anthracotheriidae) from the Maghreb and Libya". Geobios. 39 (2): 267–310. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2004.06.006.