| Pseudhyrax | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Notoungulata |
| Family: | †Archaeohyracidae |
| Genus: | †Pseudhyrax Ameghino, 1901 |
| Type species | |
| †Pseudhyrax eutrachytheroides Ameghino, 1901 | |
| Species | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Pseudhyrax is an extinct genus ofarchaeohyracid notoungulate. It lived from the LateEocene to the EarlyOligocene, of what is nowSouth America.
This animal was approximately the size of a modernraccoon, and its skull was approximately 13 centimeters long. The length of its body, excluding the tail, was approximately 65–75 centimeters, and it weighed around 7–9 kilograms.Pseudhyrax had a low and elongated skull, mainly characterized by its dentition. Thepremolars andmolars ofPseudhyrax were particularly high-crowned (hypsodont).
The genusPseudhyrax was first described in 1901 byFlorentino Ameghino, based on fossil remains found inArgentina in terrains dated from the LateEocene. The type species isPseudhyrax eutrachytheroides, and the speciesP. strangulatus was also named by Ameghino. The namePseudhyrax ("falsehyrax") reflects Ameghino's belief that this animal was related to hyraxes, due to the shape of its skull. The species name of the type species,eutrachytheroides, means "similar toEutrachytherus", another genus of notoungulate currently considered as a synonym ofTrachytherus.
Pseudhyrax is traditionally considered a member ofArchaeohyracidae, a clade of notoungulates sharing similarities with the modernrock hyrax, but larger in size and with hypsodont teeth. The family Archaeohyracidae, however, may be paraphyletic, and some of its members may be basal to other groups oftypotheres.
Pseudhyrax was a terrestrial animal, probably fast and agile, and perhaps social. It washerbivorous and its high-crowned premolars and molars indicates that it was able to feed on hard and abrasive plants in open areas.
 | Thisprehistoric mammal-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
