Sespia

Sespia Temporal range: Late Oligocene
Sespia ultima and S. californica
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	†Merycoidodontidae
Tribe:	†Sespiini
Genus:	†Sespia Schultz & Falkenbach 1968
Type species
†Leptauchenia nitida
Species
†S. nitida †S. californica †S. heterodon †S. ultima
Synonyms
†Megasespia Schultz and Falkenbach, 1968

Sespia ("of Sespe Creek") is an extinct genus of oreodont endemic to North America. They lived during the Late Oligocene 26.3—24.8 mya, existing for approximately 1.5 million years. Sespia was cat to goat-sized and desert-dwelling. The genus was closely related to the larger Leptauchenia.

Restoration of S. nitida as a semi-aquatic animal

Fossils of the best known species, the cat-sized S. californica, have been found California and are known from literally thousands of specimens. The largest species, the goat-sized S. ultima, is known from late Oligocene deposits in Nebraska. S. ultima was once placed in a separate, monotypic, genus as Megasespia middleswarti. Other species were once placed within Leptauchenia.

External links

• [1] San Diego Natural History Museum "Fossil Mysteries Field Guide: Sespia californica