Toxodonta
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| iToxodonta | ||||||||||
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Toxodonts represent the largest examples of Notoungulate evolution. The group is named after Toxodon, the first example of the group to be discovered. Scientists believe the Toxodonts first appeared during the Miocene in the form of Nesodon, a medium-sized Toxodont which had converted its second upper incisors into tusks. Toxodon itself evolved during the Pliocene alongside the related Trigodon, an equally large mammal which possessed a horn projecting from its forehead, in the same way as a modern rhinoceros. Toxodon was a huge creature about the size of a modern black rhinoceros, was a herbivore and possessed four toes on each hoof. Other Toxodonts include Proadinotherium, which existed during the Oligocene and evolved from Nesodon, and Oldfieldthomasia, which evolved from Proadinotherium during the Lower Eocene before finally evolving into Toxodon.
Related to the Toxodonts are two poorly known families: the Leontiniidae of the Oligocene and the Notohippidae. The last surviving leontiniid was Colphodon from the Upper Oligocene, which was medium-sized but heavily built. All that is known of the notohippidons is that they possessed molars that were superficially like those of modern horses, but their appearance remains uncertain.
