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Arsinoithere
Arsinoitheriidae is a family of mammals belonging to the extinct order Embrithopoda. Remains have been found in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Romania. When alive, they would have borne a strong but superficial resemblance to modern rhinoceroses; however, they were not closely related to them (or any other perissodactyl), instead being more closely related to hyraxes, elephants, sirenians, and possibly desmostylians (as part of the superorder Afrotheria). Fossil record The last genus, ''Arsinoitherium'', was first recovered from the Latest Eocene of the Fayum; it disappears from the fossil record altogether before the end of the Early Oligocene. Etymology The name honors the wife of Ptolemy II, Queen Arsinoe II of Egypt, as the first fossils of ''Arsinoitherium ''Arsinoitherium'' is an extinct genus of paenungulate mammals belonging to the extinct Order (biology), order Embrithopoda. It is related to elephants, sirenians, and hyraxes. Arsinoitheres were superficially rhin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Embrithopoda
Embrithopoda ("heavy-footed") is an Order (biology), order of extinct mammals known from Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. Most of the embrithopod genera are known exclusively from jaws and teeth dated from the late Paleocene to the late Eocene; however, the order is best known from its terminal member, the elephantine ''Arsinoitherium''. Description While embrithopods bore a superficial resemblance to rhinoceroses, their horns had bony cores covered in keratinized skin. Not all embrithopods possessed horns, either. Despite their appearance, they have been regarded as related to elephants, not perissodactyls. As Tethytheria, tethytheres, the Embrithopoda have been believed to be part of the clade Afrotheria. However, a study of the basal arsinoitheriid, ''Palaeoamasia'', suggests that embrithopods are not Tethytheria, tethytheres or even Paenungulata, paenungulates, and that they need to be better sampled in an analysis of eutherian relationships to clarify if they are even afrot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligocene Mammals
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from Ancient Greek (''olígos'') 'few' and (''kainós'') 'new', and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period. The Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. Major changes during the Oligocene included a global expansion of gras ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arsinoitherium
''Arsinoitherium'' is an extinct genus of paenungulate mammals belonging to the extinct Order (biology), order Embrithopoda. It is related to elephants, sirenians, and hyraxes. Arsinoitheres were superficially rhinoceros-like herbivores that lived during the Late Eocene and the Early Oligocene of North Africa from 36 to 30 million years ago, in areas of tropical rainforest and at the margin of mangrove swamps. A species described in 2004, ''A. giganteum'', lived in Ethiopia about 27 million years ago. Taxonomy The best-known (and first-described) species is ''A. zitteli''. Another species, ''A. giganteum'', was discovered in the Ethiopian highlands of Chilga in 2003. The fossil teeth, far larger than those of ''A. zitteli'', date to around 28–27 million years ago. While the Faiyum Oasis is the only site where complete skeletons of ''Arsinoitherium'' fossils were recovered, arsinoitheriids have been found in southeastern Europe, including ''Crivadiatherium'' from Romania, and ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desmostylia
The Desmostylia (from Greek δεσμά ''desma'', "bundle", and στῦλος ''stylos'', "pillar") are an extinct order of aquatic mammals native to the North Pacific from the early Oligocene (Rupelian) to the late Miocene (Tortonian) (). Desmostylians are the only known extinct order of marine mammals. The Desmostylia, together with Sirenia and Proboscidea (and possibly Embrithopoda), have traditionally been assigned to the afrotherian clade Tethytheria, a group named after the paleoocean Tethys around which they originally evolved. The relationship between the Desmostylia and the other orders within the Tethytheria has been disputed; if the common ancestor of all tethytheres was semiaquatic, the Proboscidea became secondarily terrestrial; alternatively, the Desmostylia and Sirenia could have evolved independently into aquatic mammals. The assignment of Desmostylia to Afrotheria has always been problematic from a biogeographic standpoint, given that Africa was the locus of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene First Appearances
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''Ēṓs'', ' Dawn') and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch.See: *Letter from William Whewell to Charles Lyell dated 31 January 1831 in: * From p. 55: "The period next antecedent we shall call Eocene, from ήως, aurora, and χαινος, recens, because the extremely small proportion of living species contained in these strata, indicates what may be considered the first commencement, or ''dawn'', of the existing state of the animate creation." The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arsinoe II Of Egypt
Arsinoë II (, 316 BC – between 270 and 268 BC) was Queen consort of Thrace, Anatolia, and Macedonia by her first and second marriage, to king Lysimachus and king Ptolemy Keraunos respectively, and then Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt by marriage to her brother, Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus. As an Egyptian queen she acquired the royal name Arsinoe Philadelphos, as well the title ''nswt-bjtj'' ("King of Upper and Lower Egypt") that may suggest she was co-ruler with her husband; the exact meaning of this elevation and whether it occurred during her life or posthumously is uncertain. After her death, Arsinoe was deified at the orders of her husband and the cult of Arsinoe Philadelphos became widespread in the Ptolemaic territories. Life Early life Arsinoë was the first daughter of Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter, founder of the Hellenistic state of Egypt, and his second wife Berenice I of Egypt. She was maybe born in Memphis, but was raised in the new city of Alexandria, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ptolemy II
Ptolemy II Philadelphus (, ''Ptolemaîos Philádelphos'', "Ptolemy, sibling-lover"; 309 – 28 January 246 BC) was the pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 284 to 246 BC. He was the son of Ptolemy I, the Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the Great who founded the Ptolemaic Kingdom after the death of Alexander, and Queen Berenice I, originally from Macedon. During Ptolemy II's reign, the material and literary splendour of the Alexandrian court was at its height. He promoted the Museum and Library of Alexandria. In addition to Egypt, Ptolemy's empire encompassed much of the Aegean and Levant. He pursued an aggressive and expansionist foreign policy with mixed success. From 275 to 271 BC, he led the Ptolemaic Kingdom against the rival Seleucid Empire in the First Syrian War and extended Ptolemaic power into Cilicia and Caria, but lost control of Cyrenaica after the defection of his half-brother Magas. In the Chremonidean War (–261 BC), Ptolemy confronted Antigonid Macedon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Oligocene
The Rupelian is, in the geologic timescale, the older of two age (geology), ages or the lower of two stage (stratigraphy), stages of the Oligocene epoch (geology), Epoch/series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans the time between . It is preceded by the Priabonian Stage (part of the Eocene) and is followed by the Chattian Stage. Name The stage is named after the small river Rupel in Belgium, a tributary to the Scheldt. The Belgian Rupel Group derives its name from the same source. The name Rupelian was introduced in scientific literature by Belgian geologist André Hubert Dumont in 1850. The separation between the group (stratigraphy), group and the stage was made in the second half of the 20th century, when stratigraphers saw the need to distinguish between lithostratigraphy, lithostratigraphic and chronostratigraphy, chronostratigraphic names. Stratigraphic definition The base of the Rupelian Stage (which is also the base of the Oligocene Series) is at the extinction of the foram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fayum
Faiyum ( ; , ) is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate. It is one of Egypt's oldest cities due to its strategic location. Name and etymology Originally founded by the ancient Egyptians as Shedet, its current name in English is also spelled as Fayum, Faiyum or al-Faiyūm. Faiyum was also previously officially named Madīnat al-Faiyūm (Arabic for ''The City of Faiyum''). The name Faiyum (and its spelling variations) may also refer to the Faiyum Oasis, although it is commonly used by Egyptians today to refer to the city. The modern name of the city comes from Coptic / ' (whence also the personal name '), meaning ''the Sea'' or ''the Lake'', which in turn comes from late Egyptian ''pꜣ-ym'' of the same meaning, a reference to the nearby Lake Moeris; the extinct elephant ancestor '' Phiomia'' was named after it. Ancient history Archaeological evidence has found occupations around ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''Ēṓs'', 'Eos, Dawn') and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch.See: *Letter from William Whewell to Charles Lyell dated 31 January 1831 in: * From p. 55: "The period next antecedent we shall call Eocene, from ήως, aurora, and χαινος, recens, because the extremely small proportion of living species contained in these strata, indicates what may be considered the first commencement, or ''dawn'', of the existing state of the animate creation." The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isoto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arsinoitherium Zitteli Skull
''Arsinoitherium'' is an extinct genus of paenungulate mammals belonging to the extinct order Embrithopoda. It is related to elephants, sirenians, and hyraxes. Arsinoitheres were superficially rhinoceros-like herbivores that lived during the Late Eocene and the Early Oligocene of North Africa from 36 to 30 million years ago, in areas of tropical rainforest and at the margin of mangrove swamps. A species described in 2004, ''A. giganteum'', lived in Ethiopia about 27 million years ago. Taxonomy The best-known (and first-described) species is ''A. zitteli''. Another species, ''A. giganteum'', was discovered in the Ethiopian highlands of Chilga in 2003. The fossil teeth, far larger than those of ''A. zitteli'', date to around 28–27 million years ago. While the Faiyum Oasis is the only site where complete skeletons of ''Arsinoitherium'' fossils were recovered, arsinoitheriids have been found in southeastern Europe, including ''Crivadiatherium'' from Romania, and '' Hypsamasia'' a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
