''Megalohyrax'' is an extinct
hyrax
Hyraxes (), also called dassies, are small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. Hyraxes are well-furred, rotund animals with short tails. Typically, they measure between long and weigh between . They are superficially simil ...
-grouped genus of herbivorous mammal that lived during the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...
,
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and 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 ...
, and
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
, about 55-11 million years ago. Its fossils have been found in Africa and in Asia Minor.
Description
This animal was very different from the current hyraxes and much larger, generally reaching the size of a
tapir
Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inh ...
and sometimes exceeding in length. The legs were strong and the body very massive. The skull was long and low, unlike that of today's hyraxes, and could reach in length.
Length of upper premolars and molars is and , respectively.
The dental formula of ''Megalohyrax'' was composed of three incisors, one canine, four premolars and three molars. It likely had an
eustachian tube
In anatomy, the Eustachian tube, also known as the auditory tube or pharyngotympanic tube, is a tube that links the nasopharynx to the middle ear, of which it is also a part. In adult humans, the Eustachian tube is approximately long and in ...
.
[
]
Classification and habitats
It was first described by Andrews in 1903. The type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
is ''Megalohyrax eocaenus'', was found in the El Fayum area in Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
. Other fossils attributed to this kind have been found in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...
and Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...
.
See also
* ''Titanohyrax
''Titanohyrax'' is an extinct genus of large to very large hyrax from the Eocene and Oligocene. Specimens have been discovered in modern-day Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Some species, like ''T. ultimus'', are estimated to be as large a ...
''
* '' Gigantohyrax''
* Largest prehistoric animals
The largest prehistoric animals include both vertebrate and invertebrate species. Many of them are described below, along with their typical range of size (for the general dates of extinction, see the link to each). Many species mentioned might ...
References
* Andrews, CW 1903. "Notes on an expedition to the Fayum, Egypt, with descriptions of some new mammals". ''Geological Magazine'' 4: 337–343.
* CW Andrews. 1906. ''A Descriptive Catalogue of the Tertiary Vertebrata of Fayum, Egypt'' 1–324
* J. Sudre. 1979. "Nouveaux MAMMIFERES eocenes du Sahara occidental". ''Palaeovertebrata'' 9 (3): 83–115
* DT Rasmussen and EL Simons. 1988. "New Oligocene hyracoids from Egypt". ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 8 (1): 67–83
* JGM Thewissen, Simons EL (2001) "Skull of ''Megalohyrax eocaenus'' (Hyracoidea, Mammalia) from the Oligocene of Egypt". ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 21: 98–106.
* J. Kappelman, DT Rasmussen, WJ Sanders, M. Feseha, T. Bown, P. Copeland, J. Crabaugh, J. Fleagle, M. Glantz, A. Gordon, B. Jacobs, M. Maga, K. Muldoon, A. Pan, L. Pyne, B. Richmond, T. Ryan, ER Seiffert, S. Sen, L. Todd, MC Wiemann and A. Winkler. 2003. "Oligocene mammals from Ethiopia and faunal exchange between Afro-Arabia and Eurasia". ''Nature'' 426: 549–552
Prehistoric placental genera
Fossil taxa described in 1903
Prehistoric hyraxes
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