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Archaeotherium ✝
| Description | Archaeotherium (Ancient Greek: αρχαιοθήριον, meaning "ancient beast") is an extinct genus of entelodont artiodactyl endemic to North America and Eurasia during the Eocene and Oligocene epochs (33.9—24.8 mya), existing for approximately 9.1 million years. Archaeotherium was about 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) tall at the shoulder and around 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long. Archaeotherium is believed to have weighed 150-300 kg (330-660 lbs). There is no sign of sexual dimorphism in the canine teeth; females and males may have been similar in size. Though Archaeotherium is one of the best preserved of all enteledonts, skulls of enteledonts are far more commonly preserved than full skeletons, and the large size of the head in proportion to the body makes it difficult to accurately estimate the animal's living size and weight. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeotherium, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source Data |
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| Rank | genus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Artiodactyla : Entelodontidae : Archaeotherium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Artiodactyla : Entelodontidae : Archaeotherium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Scientific Name | Archaeotherium Leidy, 1850 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name Published In | Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., 5 (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extinct | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 37.2 - 33.9 Ma Paleogene | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Recorded Appearance | 20.4 - 16.0 Ma Miocene | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Environment | terrestrial (based on Artiodactyla) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | actively mobile (based on Osteichthyes) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diet | omnivore (based on Entelodontidae) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taphonomy | phosphatic (based on Vertebrata) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | J. Leidy. 1850. [Abstract of remarks made before a meeting of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, October 15th, 1850]. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 5(1):90-93 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeotherium |
Fossil Distribution
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archaeotherium calkinsi ✝ species | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 30.8 Ma Oligocene | 30.8 Ma Oligocene | |
| Archaeotherium lemleyi species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Archaeotherium marshi ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 3 | 37.2 Ma Eocene | 33.9 Ma Oligocene | |
| Archaeotherium mortoni ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 25 | 37.2 Ma Eocene | 33.9 Ma Oligocene | |
| Archaeotherium palustris ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 33.9 Ma Oligocene | 33.9 Ma Oligocene | |
| Archaeotherium scotti ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 37.2 Ma Eocene | 37.2 Ma Eocene | |
| Archaeotherium trippensis ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 26.3 Ma Oligocene | 26.3 Ma Oligocene | |
| Archaeotherium wanlessi ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Choerodon caninus ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 4 | 33.3 Ma Oligocene | 20.4 Ma Miocene | |
| Elotherium calkinsi species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Elotherium coarctatum ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 8 | 37.2 Ma Eocene | 37.2 Ma Eocene | |
| Elotherium crassum ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Entelodon calkinsi ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Entelodon ingens ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Eotherium abeli ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Eotherium markgrafi ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | ||||
Obsolete Names
| Name | Source | Taxon Rank | Taxonomy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elotherium imperator (Leidy, 1873) | GBIF | species | Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Artiodactyla : Entelodontidae : Archaeotherium : Elotherium imperator |
| Elotherium superbus Leidy, 1868 | GBIF | species | Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Artiodactyla : Entelodontidae : Archaeotherium : Elotherium superbus |
| Archaeotherium superbum (Leidy, 1868) | GBIF | species | Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Artiodactyla : Entelodontidae : Archaeotherium : Archaeotherium superbum |
| Archaeotherium imperator (Leidy, 1873) | GBIF | species | Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Artiodactyla : Entelodontidae : Archaeotherium : Archaeotherium imperator |
| Entelodon imperator (Leidy, 1873) | GBIF | species | Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Artiodactyla : Entelodontidae : Archaeotherium : Entelodon imperator |
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1850 | Archaeotherium Leidy |
| 1853 | Eotherium Leidy p. 392 |
| 1868 | Elotherium superbum Leidy |
| 1873 | Elotherium imperator Leidy p. 217 |
| 1873 | Elotherium superbum Leidy p. 218 |
| 1902 | Elotherium imperator Hay p. 655 |
| 1902 | Elotherium superbum Hay p. 656 |
| 1904 | Eotherium Palmer p. 265 |
| 1909 | Archaeotherium Peterson |
| 1915 | Entelodon imperator Cope and Matthew pp. Plate CIXa |
| 1920 | Choerodon Troxell p. 441 |
| 1940 | Archaeotherium Scott p. 379 figs. Plates XXXVIII, XL, XLII, XLIII |
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 1953 | Archaeotherium Galbreath |
| 1960 | Archaeotherium Wood |
| 1960 | Archaeotherium superbum Wood pp. 88-90 |
| 1980 | Archaeotherium Russell p. 5 |
| 1988 | Archaeotherium Carroll |
| 1998 | Archaeotherium Effinger p. 378 |
| 1998 | Choerodon Effinger p. 378 |
| 2001 | Archaeotherium Thewissen et al. p. suppl. |
| 2007 | Archaeotherium Foss p. 126 |
| 2008 | Archaeotherium Vislobokova |
| 2008 | Choerodon Vislobokova |
| 2009 | Archaeotherium Spaulding et al. p. e7062 |
References
Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!
