Merychyus
Sign in to saveMerychyus is an extinct genus of oreodont of the family Merycoidodontidae, endemic to North America. It lived during the Miocene, 20.4—10.3 mya, existing for approximately . Fossils are widespread through the central and western United States.
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Merychyus elegans, Harrison, Nebraska, USA, Middle Miocene - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC00103.JPG
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- taxon rank
- genus
- taxon name
- Merychyus
- Commons category
- Merychyus
- start time
- 20000000-0
- end time
- 10000000-0
- described by source
- Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
- taxon author citation
- Leidy, 1858
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Encyclopedic overview
4 sectionsContents
- Paleoecology
- Fossil distribution
- References
- Bibliography
Merychyus is an extinct genus of oreodont of the family Merycoidodontidae, endemic to North America. It lived during the Miocene, 20.4—10.3 mya, existing for approximately . Fossils are widespread through the central and western United States.
Merychyus was a herbivore with a short face, tusk-like canine teeth, heavy body, long tail, short feet, and four-toed hooves. == Paleoecology == Fossils of Merychyus have been uncovered from Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Merychyus was a common prey item for the beardog Daphoenodon, as over half of all herbivore remains uncovered from Daphoenodon burrows at Agate Fossil Beds belonged to Merychyus.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Merychyus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.