Megacerops
Sign in to saveMegacerops ("large-horned face") is an extinct genus of brontothere, an extinct group of rhinoceros-like browsers traditionally classified as relatives of horses. Megacerops was endemic to North America during the Late Eocene, during the Chadronian land mammal age.
Article
18 sectionsContents
- History of research
- Early discoveries
- Further discoveries
- Taxonomy and species
- 20th-century developments
- Recognition of only two species
- Description
- Size
- Skull
- Horns
- Dentition
- Postcranial skeleton
- Classification
- Paleoecology
- Extinction
- Notes
- References
- External links
Megacerops ("large-horned face") is an extinct genus of brontothere, an extinct group of rhinoceros-like browsers traditionally classified as relatives of horses. Megacerops was endemic to North America during the Late Eocene, during the Chadronian land mammal age.
Chadronian brontotheres are well represented in the fossil record, known from several skeletons and hundreds of complete skulls. Because the fossils vary considerably in the size and shape of the horns, close to fifty species of Chadronian brontotheres have been named historically. Poor stratigraphic data for the majority of the fossils has further complicated the taxonomy. Today, variations among the fossils are considered to be the result of sexual dimorphism and other individual variation. Only one Chadronian brontothere species is confidently considered to be valid, M. coloradensis. Rare fossils with bifurcating horns may represent a second species, M. kuwagatarhinus. Several historical generic names now considered synonyms of Megacerops remain common in popular culture, such as Brontotherium, Brontops and Titanotherium.