| Cainotherium Temporal range: Late Oligocene–Early Miocene |
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|---|---|
| Fossil with incomplete skull | |
| Conservation status | |
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Fossil
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Suborder: | Tylopoda |
| Family: | †Cainotheriidae |
| Genus: | †Cainotherium |
| Species: | C. commune |
| Binomial name | |
| Cainotherium commune Bravard, 1828 |
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Cainotherium commune is an extinct rabbit-sized herbivore that lived in Europe during the Oligocene. It is believed that the 30 cm (1 ft) long Cainotherium was an even-toed ungulate, usually placed in the suborder Tylopoda, along with modern camelids. It had cloven hooves, similar to those of bovids or deer, although the shape and length of its limbs suggests that it moved by leaping, like a rabbit. The shape of the teeth also suggests a rabbit-like diet, while the size of the auditory bulla and shape of the brain suggest that it would have had good senses of hearing and smell. It might have had rabbit-like ears. It had no known close relatives[1][2].