Bothriogenys
| Bothriogenys | |
|---|---|
| Life Restoration | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | †Anthracotheriidae |
| Subfamily: | †Bothriodontinae |
| Genus: | †Bothriogenys Schmidt, 1913 |
| Species | |
| |
Bothriogenys is a genus of anthracotheres that lived in Eastern Africa during the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene.[1]
Distribution
Most fossils have been found in Fayum, Egypt, but one species, B. orientalis, is known from Late Eocene deposits in Thailand. It is believed to have originated from the Asian genus Anthracokeryx.[2] Bothriogenys is believed to be one of the first anthracotheriids to have entered Africa.[3]
Description
In life, they would have resembled hippopotamuses with small, elongated heads.
Palaeobiology
Growth and development
The deciduous premolars in the mandible of B. fraasi were retained all the way until the third mandibular molar began developing in the crypt, in contrast to the modern hippopotamus that sheds all deciduous premolars by the time its M3 develops in the crypt.[4]
References
- ^ Werdelin, Lars; Sanders, William Joseph (2010-07-20). Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. Univ of California Press. pp. 843–846. ISBN 978-0-520-25721-4.
- ^ Fleagle, John G.; Kay, Richard F. (2013-11-11). Anthropoid Origins. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 307. ISBN 978-1-4757-9197-6.
- ^ Sileem, Afifi H.; Abu El‐Kheir, Gebely A. (11 September 2022). "Complete skull of Bothriogenys fraasi (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Anthracotheriidae) from the Early Oligocene, Fayum, Egypt". Geological Journal. 57 (11): 4833–4841. doi:10.1002/gj.4574. ISSN 0072-1050. Retrieved 21 February 2025 – via Wiley Online Library.
- ^ Sallam, Hesham; Sileem, Afifi H.; Miller, Ellen R.; Gunnell, Gregg F. (16 August 2016). "Deciduous dentition and dental eruption sequence of Bothriogenys fraasi (Anthracotheriidae, Artiodactyla) from the Fayum Depression, Egypt". Palaeontologia Electronica. doi:10.26879/646. ISSN 1094-8074. Retrieved 14 February 2026 – via Palaeontologia Electronica.