Uintatherium

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iUintatherium

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Dinocerata
Family: Uintatheriidae
Genus: Uintatherium
Leidy, 1872

Uintatherium is an extinct genus of mammals. Fossil remains were discovered near Fort Bridger, Wyoming. This was a large browsing animal, about the size of a rhinoceros. What was most unusual about Uintatherium was its skull which was large and strongly built. The large upper canines were apparently formidable defensive weapons. The skulls of the males bore six prominent bony protuberances which grew from the frontal region of the skull. The function of these structures is unknown. They may have been of use for defense. Uintatherium lived in Eocene and Paleocene epochs and was an herbivore, eating leaves, grasses and shrubs. It become extinct by climatic changes and competition with chalicotheres, brontotheres, and true rhinoceroses.

A cast of a Uintatherium skeleton is on display at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park.

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