Thoatherium

Thoatherium
Temporal range: Early Miocene
Thoatherium crepidatum skull
Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Litopterna
Family: †Proterotheriidae
Genus: †Thoatherium

Thoatherium (meaning "active swift-beast") is an extinct genus of litoptern mammal from the early Miocene of 20 Ma.

Restoration of Thoatherium minusculum

With a length of 70 centimetres (2.3 ft), the gazelle-like Thoatherium was the smallest representative of the order Litopterna. Judging from its long legs, it was a fast runner. Thoatherium had remarkably reduced toes; only one horse-like hoof remained. Thoatherium even lacked splint bones, which are remnants of the second and fourth toe found in modern horses. Judging from its generalised teeth, Thoatherium fed on soft leaves rather than on tough grasses.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 247. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
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