Brachydiastematherium
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| Brachydiastematherium | |
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| Holotype of B. transylvanicum. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Family: | †Brontotheriidae |
| Genus: | †Brachydiastematherium Böckh & Matyasovski, 1876 |
| Species: | †B. transylvanicum |
| Binomial name | |
| †Brachydiastematherium transylvanicum Böckh & Matyasovski, 1876 | |
Brachydiastematherium (literally "short diastema beast") is a genus of Eocene brontotheriid. It is the westernmost species of brontothere, with the first fossils of it being found in Transylvania, Romania. Only the type species, B. transylvanicum, is known.[1]
In comparison with other brontothere fossils, it is suggested that B. transylvanicum would have had an elongated head, not unlike Dolichorhinus, and be about 2 meters at the withers (anatomically speaking, the highest part of the back at the base of the neck).[2][3] The name of Brachydiastematherium comes from the fact that the genus lacks a large diastema (tooth gap) between the canines and the premolars. This trait is shared by another genus, Metatitan, which also shares the unique trait of a molariform metaconid.[4]
Phylogeny
Most phylogenies support the idea that Brachydiastematherium is closest to Metatitan among the embolotheres, due to aforementioned morphological similarity in dental structure.[4]
Cladogram after Mihlbachler (2008):[5]
| Embolotheriita |
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References
- ↑ "Prohyracodon orientale Koch, the oldest known true rhinoceros. American Museum novitates ; no. 395". digitallibrary.amnh.org. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
- ↑ Spencer George Lucas und Robert M. Schoch: European Brontotheres. In: Donald R. Prothero und Robert M. Schoch (Hrsg.): The evolution of perissodactyls. New York und London, 1989, S. 485–489
- ↑ Cristina Fărcas: Study of the Upper Eocene-Lower Oligocene continental formations from northwestern side of Transylvanian Depression - Biostratigraphy, and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions based on land vertebrates. Babeș-Bolyai-Universität, Cluj-Napoca, 2011
- 1 2 "A new brontothere (Brontotheriidae, Perissodactyla, Mammalia) from the Eocene of the Ily Basin of Kazakstan and a phylogeny of Asian "horned" brontotheres. American Museum novitates ; no. 3439". digitallibrary.amnh.org. Retrieved 2025-10-06.
- ↑ Matthew C. Mihlbachler: Species taxonomy, phylogeny, and biogeography of the Brontotheriidae (Mammalia: Perissodactyla). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 311, 2008, ISSN 0003-0090, S. 1–475.
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| Basal brontotheres |  | ||||||||||
| Brontotheriinae |
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| Brachydiastematherium | |
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