Diadiaphorus

Diadiaphorus Temporal range: Early-Late Miocene (Santacrucian-Huayquerian) ~17.5–6.8 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Diadiaphorus robustus skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	†Litopterna
Family:	†Proterotheriidae
Subfamily:	†
Genus:	†Diadiaphorus Ameghino, 1887
Species
† D. caniadensis † D. coelops † D. diplinthius † D. majusculus † D. minusculus † D. paranensis † D. robustus † D. sanctaecrucis † D. velox
Synonyms
Bunodontherium Mercerat 1891 Epitherium Ameghino 1888

Diadiaphorus is an extinct genus of litoptern mammal from the Miocene of Argentina (Ituzaingó, , and ) and Bolivia (), South America.

Description[]

Size comparison between a human and D. majusculus

Diadiaphorus closely resembled a horse, but was only around 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) in body length with a weight 70 kilograms (150 lb), similar to a modern sheep.^[1] It had three toes, only one of which touched the ground. This toe had a large hoof; the two outer toes were rudimentary, much like those of early horses such as Merychippus. Unlike horses, however, Diadiaphorus lacked fused limb bones. Its skull was short and had a relatively large brain cavity. Judging from its low molars, Diadiaphorus ate soft vegetation, such as leaves.^[2]

References[]

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