''Aclistomycter'' is an extinct

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

oreodont Merycoidodontoidea, previously known as "oreodonts" or " ruminating hogs," are an extinct superfamily of prehistoric cud-chewing artiodactyls with short faces and fang-like canine teeth. As their name implies, some of the better known forms we ...

. It lived during the early

Chadronian The Chadronian is a North American Land Mammal Age typically set from around 37,000,000 to 33,700,000 years BP, a period of . The Chadronian is preceded by the Duchesnean and followed by the Orellan NALMA stages. Relative to global geological c ...

subepoch 37.2—33.9 mya, existing for approximately .''Aclistomycter'' at fossilworks
/ref> from the Chambers Tuff Formation near Adobe Springs in Presidio County, Texas. ''Aclistomycter'' was a very small

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

artiodactyl Artiodactyls are placental mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla ( , ). Typically, they are ungulates which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes (the third and fourth, often in the form of a hoof). The other t ...

with a short face, small, but tusk-like

canine teeth In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dogteeth, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. In the context of the upper jaw, they are also known as '' fangs''. They can appear more fl ...

Diagnosis

The type specimen consists of a skull and jaws. Generic characters assigned by Wilson (1970): * Medium small merycoidodontid with very large and deep, probably perforated, antorbital fossae. * Brachycephalic. * Posterior part of skull extended. * Molar teeth with thick enamel and deep fossettes. * Posterior base of zygomatic processes wide, making the skull broad posteriorly. * Bullae thought to be inflated (though the bullae are not exposed in the figures of the type specimen illustrated by Wilson).

Resources

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4674330 Eocene Artiodactyla Eocene mammals of North America Prehistoric Artiodactyla genera