Ancylotherium

Ancylotherium Temporal range: 6.5–2 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Late Miocene to Middle Pliocene
Ancylotherium model
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Superfamily:	†Chalicotherioidea
Family:	†Chalicotheriidae
Subfamily:	†Schizotheriinae
Genus:	†Ancylotherium
Species
A. hennigi A. pentelicum Gaudry and Lartet 1856

Ancylotherium (from Greek, meaning "hooked beast") is an extinct genus of the family Chalicotheriidae, subfamily Schizotheriinae, endemic to Europe, Asia, and Africa during the Late Miocene-Pliocene (9.0—1.8 mya), existing for approximately 7.2 million years.

Taxonomy

Ancylotherium was named by Gaudry (1863) and was assigned to Chalicotheriidae by Carroll (1988); and to Schizotheriinae by Geraads et al. (2007).

Description

Ancylotherium pentelici

At 2 metres (6.6 ft) high at the shoulder and a weight of 450 kilograms (990 lb), Ancylotherium was relatively large, and was built rather like a goat. While it had long forelimbs and short hind limbs like other chalicotheres, it did not walk on its knuckles. It was similar to the North American genus Moropus.

Environment

Ancylotherium's habitat was the savannahs of East and South Africa. As an herbivore, it evolved to browse on vegetation on the trees in the grassy savannahs of Africa. Ancylotherium's closest relatives are the other perissodactyls, or "odd-toed" ungulates, including the extinct brontotheres and modern-day mammals such as horses, tapirs, and rhinoceroses.

Fossil distribution

Fossil remains of Ancylotherium have been found at many of the hominid fossil sites in East and South Africa, including sites in Laetoli, Olduvai and Omo.

See also

• Moropus (a North American chalicothere)

External links

• BBC Science and News
• Fact File description