''Lophiodon'' (from , 'crest' and 'tooth') is an extinct genus of mammal related to

chalicothere Chalicotheriidae (from Ancient Greek ''khálix'', "gravel", and ''theríon'', "beast") is an extinct family of herbivorous, odd-toed ungulate (perissodactyl) mammals that lived in North America, Eurasia, and Africa from the Middle Eocene to the ...

s. It lived in

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 ...

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 was previously thought to be closely related to ''

Hyrachyus ''Hyrachyus'' (from ''Hyrax'' and "pig") is an extinct genus of perissodactyl mammal that lived in Eocene Europe, North America, and Asia. Its remains have also been found in Jamaica. It is closely related to ''Lophiodon''.Hayden, F.V''Report of ...

''. ''Lophiodon'' was named and described by

Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

(1822) based on specimens from the

Sables du Castrais Formation The Sables du Castrais Formation, also known as the Molasses du Castrais, is a geologic formation of Eocene (Ypresian to Bartonian) age, outcropping in the Montagne Noire, Montagne-Noire region of France.Noulet, J.-B. (1858) – Du terrain éoc� ...

. There are various species of Lophiodon known to have existed throughout Eocene Europe, where they were the largest

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 ...

mammals in the region. Lophiodon NT

References

Lophiodontidae Eocene Perissodactyla Fossil taxa described in 1822 Taxa named by Georges Cuvier Extinct mammals of Europe {{paleo-oddtoedungulate-stub