| Saotherium Temporal range: Early Pliocene | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Hippopotamidae |
| Genus: | †Saotherium Boisserie, 2005[1] |
| Species: | †S. mingoz |
| Binomial name | |
| †Saotherium mingoz Boisserie, 2005 | |
Saotherium is an extinct genus of hippopotamid from the Early Pliocene of Africa, specifically Chad. It is represented by a single species, S. mingoz. The earliest fossils appear at the start of the Pliocene, while the latest are dated to about 4 mya.[2]
Saotherium was a small hippopotamid similar to the pygmy hippopotamus in size and morphology. The elongated shape of its brain case and the relatively large orbits suggest a possible evolutionary relationship with the latter.[3][4]
References
- ↑ "Saotherium". Fossilworks.
- ↑ Boisserie, J-R. (2005). "The phylogeny and taxonomy of Hippopotamidae (Mammalia: Artiodactyla): a review based on morphology and cladistic analysis". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 143 (1): 1–26. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2004.00138.x.
- ↑ Prothero, Donald R. (2007). The Evolution of Artiodactyls. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 112. ISBN 9780801887352.
- ↑ Kingdon, Jonathan (2014). Mammals of Africa: Volume VI - Hippopotamuses, Pigs, Deer, Giraffe and Bovids. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 79. ISBN 9781408189955.
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