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PALAEOTHERIUM (i.e. ancient animal)
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See also:PALAEOTHERIUM (i.e. See also:ancient See also:animal) , a name applied by See also:Cuvier to the remains of ungulate mammals recalling tapirs in See also:general See also:appearance, from the See also:Lower Oligocene See also:gypsum quarries of See also:Paris. These were the first indications of the (From the Paris gypsum.) Restoration of Palaeotherium magnum. (About } nat. See also:size.) occurrence in the fossil See also:state of perissodactyle ungulates allied to the See also:horse, although it was See also:long before the relationship was recognized. The palaeotheres, which range in size from that of a See also:pig to that of a small See also:rhinoceros, are now regarded as representing a See also:family, Palaeotheriidae, nearly related to the horse-tribe, and having, in fact, probably originated from the same ancestral stock, namely, Hyracotheriurn of the Lower See also:Eocene (see See also:EQUIDAE). The connecting See also:link with Hyracotherium was formed by Pachynolophus (Propalaeotherium), and the See also:line apparently terminated in Paloplotherium, which is also Oligocene. Representatives of the family occur in many parts of See also:Europe, but the typical genus is unknown in See also:North See also:America, where, however, other forms occur. Although palaeotheres resemble tapirs in general appearance, they differ in having only three toes on the fore as well as on the See also:hind See also:foot. The dentition normally comprises the typical See also:series of 44 See also:teeth, although in some instances the first premolar is wanting. The cheek-teeth are See also:short-crowned, generally with no See also:cement, the upper molars having a W-shaped See also:outer See also:wall, from which proceed two oblique transverse crests, while the lower ones carry two crescents. Unlike the See also:early horses, the later premolars are as complex as the molars; and although there is a well-marked See also:gap between the canine and the premolars, there is only a very short one between the former and the incisors. The See also:orbit is completely open behind. In other respects the palaeotheres resemble the ancestral horses. They were, however, essentially See also:marsh-dwelling animals, and exhibit no tendency to the See also:cursorial type of See also:limb so characteristic of the horse-line. They were, in fact, essentially inadaptive creatures, and hence rapidly died out. (R. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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