Ticholeptus

Ticholeptus; Temporal range:
	Ticholeptus petersoni
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	†Merycoidodontidae
Genus:	†Ticholeptus; Cope 1878
Species
	Ticholeptus zygomaticus

Ticholeptus is an extinct genus of oreodont endemic to North America during the Middle Miocene subepoch (16.0—13.6 mya), existing for approximately 2.4 million years.^[1] Fossils have been uncovered throughout the United States from Florida to Oregon, as well as California, and numerous sites in Nebraska, Nevada, and Montana.

Palaeoecology

The dental mesowear of Ticholeptus shows that it was a mixed feeder or grazer and that it had one of the most texturally abrasive diets of any oreodont taxon.^[2]

References

^ Ticholeptus at fossilworks
^ Mihlbachler, Matthew C.; Solounias, Nikos (18 March 2006). "Coevolution of Tooth Crown Height and Diet in Oreodonts (Merycoidodontidae, Artiodactyla) Examined with Phylogenetically Independent Contrasts". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 13 (1): 11–36. doi:10.1007/s10914-005-9001-3. ISSN 1064-7554. Retrieved 20 September 2025 – via Springer Nature Link.

[1] Ticholeptus at fossilworks

[2] Mihlbachler, Matthew C.; Solounias, Nikos (18 March 2006). "Coevolution of Tooth Crown Height and Diet in Oreodonts (Merycoidodontidae, Artiodactyla) Examined with Phylogenetically Independent Contrasts". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 13 (1): 11–36. doi:10.1007/s10914-005-9001-3. ISSN 1064-7554. Retrieved 20 September 2025 – via Springer Nature Link.

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