Moeritherium
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Extinct (fossil)
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Moeritherium ('the beast from Lake Moeris') is a genus consisting of several species. These prehistoric mammals are related to the elephant and, more distantly, the sea cow. They lived during the Eocene period.
The Moeritherium species were pig-like animals, which resemble the tapirs [1]. It was smaller than modern elephants, standing only 70 cm high at the shoulder and was about 3 m long. It is believed to have wallowed in swamps and rivers, filling the ecological niche now filled by the hippopotamus. The shape of its teeth suggest that it ate soft water vegetation.
[edit] Fossil remains
In 1901, Charles Andrews described Moeritherium lyonsi from fossil remains found in the Qasr-el-Sagha formation in the Al Fayyum in Egypt. Andrews described Moeritherium gracile from fossil remains of a smaller specimen found in the same area in 1902 in fluvio-marine formation.[2][3] In 1904, the first Moeritherium trigodon fossils were discovered by Charles Andrews in the deposits of an oasis in Al Fayyum.[4][1] It is also found in other sites around North and West Africa [5]. In 1911, Schlosser divided Moeritherium lyonsi into two species. Moeritherium lyonsi a large form from the Qasr-el-Sagha formation, and a new large species Moeritherium andrewsi from the fluvio-marine formation. [2][3][6] In 2006, Moeritherium chehbeurameuri has been described from fossil remains found in the early late Eocene locality of Bir El Ater, Algeria. [7]
[edit] Extinct branch
There were several species of early elephants in existence during the Eocene, and some, such as Palaeomastodon ferni, looked relatively similar to modern elephants. However, Moeritherium was a branch of the family that evolved in a quite different way, having only a stubby trunk and short legs. Moeritherium is not believed to be an ancestor of modern elephants; it was a branch of the order that died out, leaving no descendants.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Koehl, D. 2006. The genus Moeritherium, ancestor of elephants. Downloaded on 6 December 2006.
- ^ a b Matsumoto, H. 1922. Revision of Palæomastodon and Mœritherium. Palæomastodon intermedius, and Phiomia osborni, new species. American Museum Novitates. Number 51, November 21.
- ^ a b Matsumoto, H. 1923. A Contribution to the Knowledge of Mœritherium. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History ; v. 48, article 4. p. 97-140.
- ^ ABC Online. 2002. ABC - Science - Beasts - Moeritherium Factfile Downloaded on 6 December 2006.
- ^ BBC Homepage. 2006. - Science & Nature - Wildfacts - Moeritherium Downloaded on 6 December 2006.
- ^ Schlosser M. (1911) Beiträge zur Kenntnis der oligozänen Landsäugetiere aus dem Fayum, Ägypten. Beiträge zur Paläontologie und Geologie Österreich-Ungarns, 24: 1–167.
- ^ Delmer, C., Mahboubi, M., Tabuce, R. & Tassy, P. 2006. A new species of Moeritherium (Proboscidae, Mammalia) from the Eocene of Algeria: new perspectives on the ancestral morphotype of the genus. Palaeontology 49 (2), 421-434.
