Dichobunidae is an extinct

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of basal

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 ...

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

s from the early

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 ...

to late

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, 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 defin ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. The Dichobunidae include some of the earliest known artiodactyls, such as ''

Diacodexis ''Diacodexis'' is an extinct genus of small herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Diacodexeidae that lived in North America and Europe from 55.4 mya to 46.2 mya, existing for approximately . Description ''Diacodexis'' is the oldest know ...

''.

Description

They were small animals, averaging about the size of a modern

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

, and had many primitive features. In life, they would have resembled a long-tailed

muntjac Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...

chevrotain Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small, even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, and are the only living members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also ar ...

. Dichobunids had four or five toes on each foot, with each toe ending in a small hoof. They had complete sets of teeth, unlike most later artiodactyls, with their more specialist dentitions. The shape of the teeth suggests they were browsers, feeding on small leaves, perhaps in the forest undergrowth. The shape of their bodies and limbs suggests they would have been fast-running animals, unlike most of their contemporaries.

Taxonomy

Classification of dichobunids following McKenna and Bell: *

† A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species or languages). It is one of the mo ...

Family Dichobunidae **'' Paraphenacodus'' **'' Dulcidon'' **'' Chorlakkia'' **'' Pakibune'' **'' Pakkokuhyus'' **'' Progenitohyus'' **Subfamily Dichobuninae ***Tribe Hyperdichobunini ****'' Mouillacitherium'' ****'' Hyperdichobune'' ***Tribe Dichobunini ****'' Aumelasia'' ****'' Meniscodon'' ****''

Messelobunodon ''Messelobunodon'' is an extinct genus of early even-toed ungulate 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 ...

'' ****''

Dichobune ''Dichobune'' is the type genus of the Dichobunoidea, an extinct paraphyletic superfamily consisting of some of the earliest artiodactyls known in the fossil record. It was a primitive artiodactyl genus that was endemic to western Europe and live ...

'' ****'' Buxobune'' ****'' Neufferia'' ****''

Metriotherium ''Metriotherium'' is an extinct genus of artiodactyls belonging to the basal (phylogenetics), basal family Dichobunidae. It was endemic to western Europe and lived from the Early to Late Oligocene. ''Metriotherium'' and its type species ''M. mira ...

'' ****'' Synaphodus'' **Subfamily Eurodexeinae ***'' Eurodexis'' ***'' Eygalayodon'' ***''

Lutzia ''Lutzia'' is a genus of mosquitos. First described in 1903 by Frederick Vincent Theobald,Frederick V. Theobald. 1903. ''A monograph of Culicidae or mosquitoes'', III. London: British Museum (Natural History). xv + 359pp.; 155; http://www.mosq ...

'' ***'' Parahexacodus'' **Subfamily Diacodexeinae ***''

'' ***'' Bunophorus'' ***'' Protodichobune'' ***'' Tapochoerus'' ***'' Neodiacodexis''

References

Dichobunids Eocene Artiodactyla Oligocene Artiodactyla Eocene first appearances Chattian extinctions Prehistoric mammal families {{paleo-eventoedungulate-stub