Diadiaphorus

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Early-Late Miocene (Santacrucian-Huayquerian)
~{{fossil range|17.5|6.8}}

| image = Diadiaphorus majusculus (cropped).jpg

| image_caption = D. majusculus skull. Collected from Santa Cruz, Patagonia, Argentina.

| taxon = Diadiaphorus

| authority = Ameghino, 1887

| type_species = †Diadiaphorus majusculus

| type_species_authority = Ameghino, 1887

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = *D. caniadensis

D. majusculus Ameghino, 1887
D. paranensis
D. sanctaecrucis
D. velox

| synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets=true

|title=Genus synonymy

|Bunodontherium
Mercerat, 1891

}}

{{collapsible list|bullets=true

|title=D. majusculus

|Bunodontherium majusculum
Mercerat, 1891

|Diadiaphorus diplinthus
Ameghino, 1894

|Diadiaphorus robustus
Ameghino, 1894

|Diadiaphorus coelops
Ameghino, 1904

}}

Diadiaphorus is an extinct genus of litoptern mammal from the Miocene of Argentina (Ituzaingó, Pinturas, Chiquimil and Santa Cruz Formations) and Bolivia (Nazareno Formation), South America.

Description

File:Diadiaphorus majusculus NT.jpg

Diadiaphorus closely resembled a horse, but was only around {{convert|1.2|m|ft}} in body length with a weight {{convert|70|kg|lb}}, similar to a modern sheep.D. Patterson, Bruce (2012) Bones, Clones, and Biomes: The History and Geography of Recent Neotropical Mammals p.92

It had three toes, only one of which touched the ground. This toe had a large hoof; the two outer toes were rudimentary, much like those of early horses such as Merychippus. Unlike horses, however, Diadiaphorus lacked fused limb bones. Its skull was short and had a relatively large brain cavity. Judging from its low molars, Diadiaphorus ate soft vegetation, such as leaves.{{cite book |editor=Palmer, D.|year=1999 |title= The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals|publisher= Marshall Editions|location=London|page= 247|isbn= 1-84028-152-9}}

{{Multiple image

| image1 = Reports of the Princeton University Expeditions to Patagonia, 1896-1899. J. B. Hatcher in charge (1901) (14563211299).jpg

| align = left

| image2 = Diadiaphorus majusculu.jpg

| caption1 = 1901 skeletal illustration of D. majusculus, mostly based on bones from two separate individuals.

| caption2 = 1913 illustration of D. majusculus by Charles R. Knight.

}}