Palaeosyops

Palaeosyops; Temporal range: Early–Middle Eocene (Bridgerian), 50.1–46.3 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Da. S T Ypr. Lut. B Pr. Rup. Ch.
	P. robustus skeleton
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Placentalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	†Brontotheriidae
Subfamily:	†Palaeosyopinae
Genus:	†Palaeosyops
Species
	P. dayi; P. paludosus Leidy, 1870 (type); P. robustus (Marsh, 1872);

Palaeosyops is a genus of small brontothere which lived during the early to middle Eocene.^[2]

Biology and size

It was about the size of small cattle, with an estimated weight of 408.5 kilograms (901 lb).^[3]

These animals are commonly found in Wyoming fossil beds primarily as fossilized teeth. P. major was the largest species, reaching the size of a small cow. Its describer, Joseph Leidy, erroneously thought that Palaeosyops consumed both plants and animals after examining the fang-like canines. However, it is now known that all brontotheres were strict herbivores, and that many, if not most genera of hornless brontotheres had fang-like canines, possibly for both defense from predators, and intraspecific competition.

References

↑ Hodnett, John-Paul M.; Welsh, Edward T.; Santucci, Vincent L.; Tweet, Justin S. (2022). "A Middle Eocene brontothere (Mammalia; Perissodactyla; Brontotheriidae) from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming". FOSSIL RECORD 8. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. p. 211.
↑ "Fossilworks: Palaeosyops".
↑ Sanisidro, Oscar; Mihlbachler, Matthew C.; Cantalapiedra, Juan L. (2023). "A macroevolutionary pathway to megaherbivory". Science. 380 (6645): 616–618. doi:10.1126/science.ade1833. Supplemental Material (Data S1, Sheet 6)