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Brachypotherium

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brachypotherium
Temporal range: Miocene
Mandible
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Placentalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Subfamily: †Aceratheriinae
Tribe: †Teleoceratini
Genus: †Brachypotherium
Roger, 1904
Type species
†Brachypotherium brachypus
Lartet, 1848
Species
  • B. brachypus
  • B. goldfussi
  • B. lewisi
  • B. minor
  • B. perimense

Brachypotherium is an extinct genus of rhinocerotid that lived in Eurasia and Africa during the Miocene.[1]

Many species of Brachypotherium have been described. Some species have moved to other genera, such as B. aurelianense being transferred to Diaceratherium.[2] The genus was widespread during the Early and Middle Miocene, before heading into a decline. They went extinct in Eurasia by the beginning of the Late Miocene, with the African species B. lewisi surviving until the end of the epoch.[3]

Ungulates from the Late Miocene of Africa, including B. lewisi (right)

A first upper deciduous molar referable to Brachypotherium brachypus was found during gold mining in New Caledonia during the 19th century, being misidentified as a species of marsupial known as Zygomaturus.[4] However, rhinoceros were never native to New Caledonia, and the tooth likely originates from France and was probably used as jewelry by a French convict deported there.[5][6]

Paleoecology

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Dental microwear and mesowear analysis of fossils from Béon 1 suggests that B. brachypus was a mixed feeder.[7] Paired δ18O and δ13C data from Middle Miocene fossils found in the Siwaliks of Pakistan indicate that B. perimense dwelt in ponds and woodlands, while B. fatehjangense preferred forests with river systems.[8]

References

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  1. ↑ Wilson, R. (1993). "Importance of the field occurrence of the rhinocerotid Brachypotherium americanum Yatkola and Tanner, 1979". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13 (2): 270. Bibcode:1993JVPal..13..270W. doi:10.1080/02724634.1993.10011507.
  2. ↑ Prothero, Donald Ross (2005). The Evolution of North American Rhinoceroses. Cambridge University Press. p. 97. ISBN 9780521832403.
  3. ↑ Handa, N. (2020). "Brachypotherium perimense (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae) from the Miocene of Nakhon Ratchasima, Northeastern Thailand, with comments on fossil records of Brachypotherium". Historical Biology. 33 (9): 1642–1660. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1723578. S2CID 214240702.
  4. ↑ Guerin, Claude; Winslow, John H.; Piboule, Michel; Faure, Martine (January 1981). "Le prétendu rhinocéros de Nouvelle Calédonie est un marsupial (Zygomaturus diahotensis nov. sp.)". Geobios. 14 (2): 201–217. doi:10.1016/s0016-6995(81)80004-6. ISSN 0016-6995.
  5. ↑ Antoine, Pierre-Olivier (March 2012). "Pleistocene and Holocene rhinocerotids (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the Indochinese Peninsula". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 11 (2–3): 159–168. Bibcode:2012CRPal..11..159A. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2011.03.002. ISSN 1631-0683.
  6. ↑ Affholder, Oscar; Antoine, Pierre-Olivier; Beck, Robin M. D. (September 2024). "The "Diahot Tooth" is a Miocene rhinocerotid fossil brought by humans to New Caledonia". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 31 (3) 27. doi:10.1007/s10914-024-09723-6. ISSN 1064-7554.
  7. ↑ Hullot, Manon; Laurent, Yves; Merceron, Gildas; Antoine, Pierre-Olivier (2021). "Paleoecology of the Rhinocerotidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from Béon 1, Montréal-du-Gers (late early Miocene, SW France): Insights from dental microwear texture analysis, mesowear, and enamel hypoplasia". Palaeontologia Electronica. doi:10.26879/1163. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  8. ↑ Rafeh, Amtur; Khan, Abdul Majid; Ahmad, Rana Manzoor; Iqbal, Mudassar; Akhtar, Muhammad (10 July 2020). "Systematic and paleoecological study of the new remains of Brachypotherium (Rhinocerotidae) from the Middle Miocene Siwaliks (Pakistan)". Arabian Journal of Geosciences. 13 (14). doi:10.1007/s12517-020-05657-4. ISSN 1866-7511. Retrieved 6 June 2026 – via Springer Nature Link.
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