Miniochoerus
{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammals}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Late Eocene|Early Oligocene}}
| image = Miniochoerus gracilis LACM.jpg
| image_caption = M. gracilis skeleton, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
| taxon = Miniochoerus
| authority = Schultz and Falkenbach, 1956
| type_species = †Miniochoerus battlecreekensis
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text
| synonyms = * Paraminiochoerus Schultz and Falkenbach, 1956Subgenus not recognized by Stevens and Stevens.
- Parastenopsochoerus Schultz and Falkenbach, 1956
- Platyochoerus Schultz and Falkenbach, 1956
- Pseudostenopsochoerus Schultz and Falkenbach, 1956
- Stenopsochoerus Schultz and Falkenbach, 1956
}}
Miniochoerus is an extinct genus of small oreodont endemic to North America. They lived during the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene 38–30.8 mya, existing for approximately {{Mya|38-31|million years}}.{{cite book |last=Stevens |first=M.S. |author2=Stevens, J.B. |editor=Prothero, D.R. |editor2=Emry, R.J. |title=The terrestrial Eocene-Oligocene transition in North America |year= 1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-43387-8 |pages=498–573 |chapter=Merycoidodontinae and Miniochoerinae }} Fossils have been found only in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming.{{cn|date=April 2019}}
Species
- M. affinis (syn. Merycoidodon platycephalus, M. battlecreekensis, Oreodon coloradoensis, Stenopsochoerus sternbergi)
- M. chadronensis (syn. Parastenopsochoerus conversensis, Stenopsochoerus douglasensis, S. reideri)
- M. forsythae
- M. gracilis
- M. starkensis (syn. M. cheyennensis, M. helprini, M. nicholsae, M. ottensi, Platyochoerus hatcreekensis, P. heartensis, Stenopsochoerus berardae, S. joderensis)
Description
Typically, there were about the size of a small dog. Their skulls were small and short, compared to other oreodont species, many of which had proportionately large heads. Unlike other oreodont species, they had small canines which would have done little good against foes. The genus arose during the late Eocene, and survived the Late Eocene extinction event, giving rise to a dwarfed lineage during the early Oligocene.{{cite book | author = Prothero, D.R. | year = 2006 | title = After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals | publisher = Indiana University Press | isbn = 0-253-34733-5}}