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Saotherium

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Saotherium
Temporal range: Early Pliocene
5.3–4.0 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Hippopotamidae
Genus: Saotherium
Boisserie, 2005[1]
Species:
S. mingoz
Binomial name
Saotherium mingoz
Boisserie, 2005

Saotherium is an extinct genus of hippopotamid from the Early Pliocene of Africa, specifically Chad. It is represented by a single species, S. mingoz. The earliest fossils appear at the start of the Pliocene, while the latest are dated to about 4 mya.[2]

Saotherium was a small hippopotamid similar to the pygmy hippopotamus in size and morphology. The elongated shape of its brain case and the relatively large orbits suggest a possible evolutionary relationship with the latter.[3][4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Saotherium". Fossilworks.
  2. ^ Boisserie, J-R. (2005). "The phylogeny and taxonomy of Hippopotamidae (Mammalia: Artiodactyla): a review based on morphology and cladistic analysis". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 143 (1): 1–26. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2004.00138.x.
  3. ^ Prothero, Donald R. (2007). The Evolution of Artiodactyls. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 112. ISBN 9780801887352.
  4. ^ Kingdon, Jonathan (2014). Mammals of Africa: Volume VI - Hippopotamuses, Pigs, Deer, Giraffe and Bovids. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 79. ISBN 9781408189955.