| Miniochoerus Temporal range: Late Eocene–Oligocene |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | †Merycoidodontidae |
| Subfamily: | Miniochoerinae |
| Genus: | Miniochoerus Schultz and Falkenbach, 1956 |
| Type species | |
| Miniochoerus battlecreekensis |
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| Species[1] | |
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see text |
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| Synonyms | |
Miniochoerus is a small extinct genus of oreodont endemic to North America during the Late Eocene (38—30.8 mya) which existed for approximately 6 million years.[1][3]
Contents |
Miniochoerus was named by Schultz and Falkenbach (1956). Its type is Miniochoerus battlecreekensis. It was synonymized subjectively with Oreonetes by Lander (1998). It was assigned to Merycoidodontidae by Schultz and Falkenbach (1956) and Stevens and Stevens (1996).[4][5]
Typically, there were about the size of a small dog. Their skulls were small and short, compared to other oreodont species, many of which had proportionately large heads. Unlike other oreodont species, they had small canines which would have done little good against foes. The genus arose during the late Eocene, and survived the Late Eocene extinction event, giving rise to a dwarfed lineage during the early Oligocene.[6]
A single specimen was examined by M. Mendoza for body mass and estimated to have a weight of 32.4 kg (71.4 lbs).[7]
Fossil distribution is confined to North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming.