Moeritherium
(Redirected from Moeritheriidae)
Moeritherium is a extinct genus of primitive mammals. It represents a very early stage in the evolution of elephants. These prehistoric mammals are related to the elephant and, more distantly, the sea cow. They lived during the later Eocene in what is now North Africa.
| Moeritherium Temporal range: late Eocene
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Skull of Moeritherium lyonsi in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | †Moeritheriidae C.W. Andrews, 1906
|
| Genus: | †Moeritherium C.W. Andrews, 1901
|
Moeritherium did not look like living elephants. It was about as large as a tapir. It had short, strong legs, a relatively long body, and a short tail. The feet of Moeritherium were broad and had flat-hoofed toes.