Schizotheriinae
| Schizotheriinae Temporal range: Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene
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| Moropus elatus at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Family: | †Chalicotheriidae |
| Subfamily: | †Schizotheriinae Holland and Peterson, 1914[1][2] |
| Genera[citation needed] | |
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†Ancylotherium | |
Schizotheriines make up an extinct clade of the family Chalicotheriidae, a group of herbivorous, odd-toed ungulate (perissodactyl) mammals. Unlike the gorilla-like proportions of other chalicotheres, schizotheriines had smaller body proportions, closer to those of Moropus. Analysis of dental microwear implies most Miocene Schizotheriinae fed on leaves, bark and twigs. Their claws were most likely used in a hook-like manner to pull down branches, suggesting they lived as bipedal browsers.[2]
References
- ^ Holland, W. J.; Peterson, O. A. (1914). "The Osteology of the Chalicotheroidea with Special Reference to a Mounted Skeleton of Moropus elatus Marsh, Now Installed in the Carnegie Museum". Memoirs of the Carnegie Museum. 3 (2): 203–205.
- ^ a b Coombs, Margery C. (13 Feb 2009). "The chalicothere Metaschizotherium bavaricum (Perissodactyla, Chalicotheriidae, Schizotheriinae) from the Miocene (MN5) Lagerstatte of Sandelzhausen (Germany): description, comparison, and paleoecological significance". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 83 (1). Berlin / Heidelberg: Springer: 85–129. doi:10.1007/s12542-009-0004-x.
Further reading
- Handa, Naoto; Kawabe, Soichiro (2016). "Femur of Schizotheriinae (Perissodactyla, Chalicotheriidae) from the lower Miocene Hiramaki Formation of the Mizunami Group in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36 (4): e1131163. doi:10.1080/02724634.2016.1131163.</ref>
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