Heptodon
Extinct genus of mammal
Heptodon is an extinct genus of tapir-type herbivore of the family Helaletidae endemic to North America during the Early Eocene. It lived from 50.3, 48.6 mya, existing for approximately 1.7 million years.
Heptodon was about 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length, and closely resembled modern tapirs. The shape of the skull suggests that it probably lacked the characteristic tapir trunk. Instead it probably had a slightly elongated, fleshy upper lip, like its relative Helaletes.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Heptodon”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Heptodon posticus MCZ.jpg by Jonathan Chen, CC BY 4.0
- Heptodon posticus.jpg by Smokeybjb, CC BY-SA 3.0
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