Palaeosyops

Palaeosyops Temporal range: Early Eocene–Middle Eocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Palaeosyops robustus skeleton
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	†Brontotheriidae
Genus:	†Palaeosyops
Species
P. paludosus Leidy, 1870 (type) P. robustus (Marsh, 1872)

Palaeosyops (Greek: "old" (paleos), "boar" (kapros), "face" (ops)^[1]) is a genus of small brontothere which lived during the early to middle Eocene.^[2]

It was about the size of small cattle, with a weight of 600–800 kg depending on the species.^[3]

These animals are commonly found in Wyoming fossil beds primarily as fossilized teeth. P. major was the largest species, reaching the size of a small cow. Its describer, Joseph Leidy, erroneously thought that Palaeosyops consumed both plants and animals after examining the fang-like canines. However, it is now known that all brontotheres were strict herbivores, and that many, if not most genera of hornless brontotheres had fang-like canines, possibly for both defense from predators, and intraspecific competition.

• Academy of Natural Sciences

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