Brachycrus
{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammals}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Automatic Taxobox
|name = Brachycrus
|image = Brachycrus_laticeps.jpg
|image_caption = Brachycrus laticeps
|fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Middle Miocene}}
|taxon = Brachycrus
|authority = Matthew, 1901
|type_species = †Merycochoerus rusticus
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision =
- B. buwaldi
- B. laticeps
- B. rusticus
- B. siouense
- B. sweetwaterensis
- B. vaughani
| synonyms =
- Pronomotherium Douglass, 1907
}}
Brachycrus is an extinct genus of oreodont, of the family Merycoidodontidae, endemic to North America. They lived during the Middle Miocene, 16.0—13.6 mya, existing for approximately {{Mya|16-13.6|million years}}.[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=42491 Brachycrus at fossilworks]
Description
The {{convert|1|m|ft}} long creature resembled its bigger, earlier relative Merycoidodon, but was more specialized. Brachycrus had jaws which were short, and because the nostrils were placed far to the back, the creature is presumed to have had a tapir-like proboscis.{{cite book |editor=Palmer, D.|year=1999 |title= The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals|publisher= Marshall Editions|location=London|page= 271|isbn= 1-84028-152-9}}
Palaeoecology
Dental mesowear shows that B. laticeps had a browsing diet during the late Hemingfordian, but that its diet shifted towards a more mixed feeding diet during the early Barstovian.{{Cite journal |last=Mihlbachler |first=Matthew C. |last2=Solounias |first2=Nikos |date=18 March 2006 |title=Coevolution of Tooth Crown Height and Diet in Oreodonts (Merycoidodontidae, Artiodactyla) Examined with Phylogenetically Independent Contrasts |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10914-005-9001-3 |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |language=en |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=11–36 |doi=10.1007/s10914-005-9001-3 |issn=1064-7554 |access-date=22 February 2025 |via=Springer Nature Link}}
References
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{{Portal|Paleontology}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2791160}}
Category:Miocene mammals of North America
Category:Fossil taxa described in 1901
Category:Prehistoric Artiodactyla genera
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