Skip to content
EntityQ12901004· pop 9· linked from 58 articles

Megalohyrax

Sign in to save

Megalohyrax is an extinct hyrax-grouped genus of herbivorous mammal that lived during the Oligocene, about 33-30 million years ago. Its fossils have been found in Africa and in Asia Minor.

~2 min read

Encyclopedic overview

4 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • Classification and habitats
  • See also
  • References

Megalohyrax is an extinct hyrax-grouped genus of herbivorous mammal that lived during the Oligocene, about 33-30 million years ago. Its fossils have been found in Africa and in Asia Minor.

==Description== This animal was very different from the current hyraxes and much larger, generally reaching the size of a tapir and sometimes exceeding in length. The legs were strong and the body very massive. The skull was long and low, unlike that of today's hyraxes, and could reach in length. Length of upper premolars and molars is and , respectively. The dental formula of Megalohyrax was composed of three incisors, one canine, four premolars and three molars. It likely had an eustachian sac, a pouch-like structure found in some mammals that is connected to the eustachian tube.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Megalohyrax” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Available in 7 languages

via Wikidata sitelinks · CC0