Anoplotheriidae
Temporal range: Eocene-Oligocene
Reconstruction of Anoplotherium
Life restoration of Diplobune
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: †Anoplotheriidae
Bonaparte, 1850
Subfamilies
  • Dacrytheriinae
  • Anoplotheriinae
Synonyms

Anoplotheriina Bonaparte 1850

Skull of Anoplotherium commune, showing the unspecified dentition

Anoplotheriidae is an extinct family of artiodactyl ungulates. They were endemic to Europe during the Eocene and Oligocene epochs about 44—30 million years ago. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek: ἂνοπλος ("unarmed")[1] and θήριον ("beast"),[2] translating as "unarmed beast".

Ecology

Species of Anoplotheriidae varied substantially in size. Diplobune minor is suggested to have weighted about 20 kg (44 lb),[3] while Anoplotherium is suggested to have been up to 271 kg (597 lb) in weight.[4] Anoplotherium is thought to have been a browser that reared up on its hind legs to feed,[5] while Diplobune is suggested to have been an arboreal climbing animal.[3]

Systematics and taxonomy

The family Anoplotheriidae was assigned to Belluae by Bonaparte (who named it Anoplotheriina) in 1850; to Artiodactyla by Cope in 1889, to Ruminantia by Gregory in 1910, and finally to its own superfamily Anoplotherioidea by Romer in 1966.[6][7][8] A 2019 study considered them to be closely related to Cainotheriidae, another group of endemic European artiodactyls, with this group in turn being related to ruminants,[9] while a 2020 study found them to be more closely related to the also European endemic Xiphodontidae, again as relatives of ruminants.[10]

Included genera:

References

  1. ↑ ἂνοπλος. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  2. ↑ θηρίον. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  3. 1 2 Orliac, Maeva J.; Araújo, Ricardo; Lihoreau, Fabrice (2017). "The petrosal and bony labyrinth of Diplobune minor, an enigmatic Artiodactyla from the Oligocene of Western Europe". Journal of Morphology. 278 (9): 1168–1184. doi:10.1002/jmor.20702.
  4. ↑ Badiola, Ainara; De Vicuña, Nahia Jiménez; Perales-Gogenola, Leire; Gómez-Olivencia, Asier (2023). "First clear evidence of Anoplotherium (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) in the Iberian Peninsula: an update on the Iberian anoplotheriines". The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology. doi:10.1002/ar.25238. PMID 37221992. S2CID 258864256.
  5. ↑ Hooker, Jerry J. (2007). "Bipedal browsing adaptations of the unusual Late Eocene–earliest Oligocene tylopod Anoplotherium (Artiodactyla, Mammalia)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 151 (3): 609–659. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2007.00352.x.
  6. ↑ Bonaparte, C.-L. (1850). Conspectus Systematis Mastozoologiae. Editio Altera Reformata [Survey of the system of mammals. Second revised edition].
  7. ↑ Cope, E. D. (1889). "Synopsis of the families of Vertebrata". The American Naturalist. 23: 1–29.
  8. ↑ Hooker, J. J. (1986). "Mammals from the Bartonian (middle/late Eocene) of the Hampshire Basin, southern England". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). 39 (4): 191–478.
  9. ↑ Weppe, Romain; Blondel, Cécile; Vianey-Liaud, Monique; Pélissié, Thierry; Orliac, Maëva Judith (2020). "A new Cainotherioidea (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from Palembert (Quercy, SW France): Phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of the dental pattern of Cainotheriidae". Palaeontologia Electronica (23(3):a54). doi:10.26879/1081. S2CID 229490410.
  10. ↑ Luccisano, Vincent; Sudre, Jean; Lihoreau, Fabrice (2020-10-01). "Revision of the Eocene artiodactyls (Mammalia, Placentalia) from Aumelas and Saint-Martin-de-Londres (Montpellier limestones, Hérault, France) questions the early European artiodactyl radiation". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (19): 1631–1656. doi:10.1080/14772019.2020.1799253. ISSN 1477-2019.

Sources

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