#prodinoceras

[palaeopedia]

Before terrible horns, Prodinoceras (1929)

Phylum : Chordata Class : Mammalia Order : Dinocerata Family : Uintatheriidae Genus : Prodinoceras Species : P. xinjiangensis

Late Pleistocene

3 m long (size)

Mongolia (map)

Prodinoceras was the earliest known uintathere genus, which lived in the late Paleocene of Mongolia. It was a relatively small uintathere, reaching 2.9 m in length. It is also regarded as the basal uintathere, as, although it had the characteristic fang-like tusks, it had yet to evolve the characteristic knob-like horns.

It is very similar to its North American counterpart, Probathyopsis. All experts regard it as Prodinoceras' sister genus.

[lostbeasts]

Prodinoceras. An early member of Dinocerata, Prodinoceras was around the size of a modern tapir, making it one of the biggest animals in Asia during the Paleocene epoch (directly after the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event). It possessed long canines that were protected by flanges on the lower jaw, but didn't yet have the same bony skull knobs like later uintatheres.