Metaxytherium
| Metaxytherium Temporal range: Miocene–Pleistocene | |
|---|---|
 | |
| M. floridanum fossil | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Sirenia |
| Family: | Dugongidae |
| Genus: | Metaxytherium de Christol, 1840 |
| species | |
| |
Metaxytherium is an extinct genus of dugong that lived from the Miocene to the Pleistocene. Its remains have been found in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.
Paleobiology
Metaxytherium lived in coastal waters and inland waterways, and there is evidence that they were preyed on by sharks.[2]
Species
There are eight species of Metaxytherium recognized as valid: M. albifontanum, M. arctodites, M. crataegense, M. floridanum, M. krahuletzi, M. medium, M. serresii, and M. subapenninum.
The genus Thalattosiren Sickenberg 1928 was once thought to be distinct from Metaxytherium, but is now considered a junior synonym of M. medium.[3]
M. krahuletzi
M. subappenninum
See also
Related species
References
- ↑ Jorge Vélez-Juarbe and Daryl P. Domning (2014). "Fossil Sirenia of the West Atlantic and Caribbean region. Ix. Metaxytherium albifontanum, sp. nov.". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34 (2): 444–464. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.799072.
- ↑ "METAXYTHERIUM TUSK FOSSILS". Paleo Direct, Inc. Archived from the original on 6 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ↑ D. P. Domning and P. Pervesler. 2012. The sirenian Metaxytherium (Mammalia: Dugongidae) in the Badenian (Middle Miocene) of Central Europe. Austrian Journal of Earth Sciences 105(3):125-160
Further reading
- Manatees and Dugongs of the World by Jeff Ripple
- Discovering Fossils: How to Find and Identify Remains of the Prehistoric Past (Fossils & Dinosaurs) by Frank A. Garcia, Donald S. Miller, and Jasper Burns
- Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals by William F. Perrin, Bernd Wursig, and J. G.M. Thewissen
- Marine Mammals: Evolutionary Biology by Annalisa Berta, James L. Sumich, and Kit M. Kovacs
- Marine Mammal Biology: An Evolutionary Approach by A. Rus Hoelzel
- Neptune's Ark: From Ichthyosaurs to Orcas by David Rains Wallace
- Classification of Mammals by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell
External links
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