![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Systemodon_tapirinus_2.jpg/640px-Systemodon_tapirinus_2.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Systemodon
Genus of mammals / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Systemodon is a genus of early Eocene mammal of Wasatchian age (ca. 55-50 mya). It was one of many mammals originally considered the earliest horses, long classified in the genus Hyracotherium (commonly known as Eohippus). These were dog-sized animals that in life would have looked vaguely like a paca, mara, or chevrotain (though they were perissodactyls, not rodents or artiodactyls.) The type species, S. tapirinus, is represented by 24 individuals from a locale called the Castillo pocket in the Huerfano Formation of Colorado. This well-preserved deposit allows researchers to reconstruct aspects of the environment and lifestyle of the species.[2]
Quick Facts Scientific classification, Binomial name ...
Systemodon | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Skull of S. tapirinus | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Perissodactyla |
Clade: | Tapiromorpha |
Genus: | †Systemodon Cope, 1881 |
Species: | †S. tapirinus |
Binomial name | |
†Systemodon tapirinus Cope, 1875 | |
Synonyms[1] | |
|
Close