Arsinoitheriidae
Arsinoitheriidae is a family of mammals belonging to the extinct order Embrithopoda. Remains have been found in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Romania. Arsinotheriids were closely related to hyraxes, elephants, sirenians, and possibly desmostylians (as part of the superorder Afrotheria). The name of the clade honors the wife of Ptolemy II, Queen Arsinoe II of Egypt, as the first fossils of Arsinoitherium were found near the ruins of her palace.
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4 sectionsContents
- Description
- Fossil record
- References
- External links
Arsinoitheriidae is a family of mammals belonging to the extinct order Embrithopoda. Remains have been found in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Romania. Arsinotheriids were closely related to hyraxes, elephants, sirenians, and possibly desmostylians (as part of the superorder Afrotheria). The name of the clade honors the wife of Ptolemy II, Queen Arsinoe II of Egypt, as the first fossils of Arsinoitherium were found near the ruins of her palace.
== Description == thumb|left|Reconstruction of an undetermined Arsinoitherium speciesArsinoitheriids are easily recognized by their prominent nose horns, which, in life, were likely covered in keratin. The horns are derived from the nasal bones. They are also characterized by pseudolophodont molars. They also had small incisors, which may have asked as some form of tusk.